A surprise to many was the pace with which Louise Haigh came, saw, and went as Transport Secretary. While she no doubt now regrets promising during her early days in post to move fast, her fall from grace proves that today’s minister is tomorrow’s anonymous backbencher.
Equally rapid was her replacement with Heidi Alexander. Contrary to what has been said in some of the more partisan mainstream sources, Ms Alexander already has knowledge of the brief through time spent within the London political machine as Deputy Mayor for Transport.
Ms Alexander supported Andy Burnham in his previous bids to lead the Labour party, and after her appointment as Transport Secretary little time elapsed before she hosted Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram. Both of those men are staunchly in the camp of greater public control for bus services and lead the way in franchising rollout in England.
That gives a strong idea as to what will change for coach and bus from Ms Haigh’s tenure to that of Ms Alexander: Nothing. No divergence on policy, even if Ms Alexander is more from Tony Blair’s version of Labour than Ms Haigh is. Manifestos transcend personalities. In any case, Simon Lightwood retains immediate ministerial responsibility for the sector.
Whether the arrival of Ms Alexander will delay the Buses Bill in England is less clear. It is promised before the close of the year. Parliament rises for Christmas on 19 December and so pushback is not inconceivable, although sources close to the matter suggest that work continues at pace to come good on the 2024 intention.
Nevertheless, among Ms Alexander’s first tasks was deciding how rail franchises in England controlled by the Department for Transport (DfT) will return to public ownership. It is reported that she is taking a more cautious approach to that than Ms Haigh favoured, although the messaging remains the same.
Doubtless further down the ministerial list of priorities is a course of action for PSVAR. Those familiar with it note that little is said about the accessibility conundrum in routine dialogue between coach industry representatives and DfT officials.
That is a worry. A government response to the call for evidence on the review of PSVAR and publication of the next steps for accessibility is a year late already, and it is now inevitable that the current medium-term exemption structure will be pushed back beyond its mid-2026 end date.
With zero knowledge of what the PSVAR review will require of the coach industry, a ticking clock and buyers increasingly keeping their powder dry on accessibility when purchasing new vehicles pending long-term clarity, the ongoing inaction is storing up a problem.
So what of Ms Alexander? Writing in The Guardian in 2016, she decried unprofessionalism and unwillingness to make decisions, and indicated that engaging with the media is not her thing. A Transport Secretary who gets on with the day-to-day quietly and efficiently may be what is needed – but she must remember that items further down her agenda are just as important as those at the top.
