Pre-election, road building

Fleet News secured exclusive interviews with the three most important political figures for fleets – transport minister Paul Clark, Conservative shadow transport minister Theresa Villiers and Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Norman Baker.

With the election just months away, we quizzed them about their policies on key transport issues and what they have in store for fleets.

Theresa Villiers, Shadow Transport Minister for the Conservatives talks about Road Building
Norman Baker, Shadow Transport Spokeman for the Liberal Democrats talks about Road Building
 

Politically, the appetite for high-speed rail is far greater than for new roads. “We are not going to build new inter-urban roads,” states Norman Baker. “It makes a lot of sense to concentrate on expanding the rail network.

“The railway is coming close to capacity so it has to be addressed otherwise it will become dysfunctional.

“We were first on high-speed rail, we were first on rail franchises,” he adds. “As is often the case with the Lib Dems, we get there first and the others come and steal our policies.”

However, roads will still get investment under a Lib Dems government. “There is only so much money – and the money that is available should not be spent on expansion but on maintenance network and eliminating blackspots,” Baker says.

The Conservatives have a similar approach, although they do not rule out more road building. “We are very anxious to improve the efficiency of the existing [road] network,” says Villiers.

“We may build new roads but only when that is consistent with
a responsible approach to public finances.”

The Tories intend to build a high-speed rail line connecting London, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester with the continent through the Channel Tunnel. It also commits to tackle overcrowding by reforming Network Rail.

Labour, under Lord Adonis – the champion of rail – is also committed to high-speed rail. It has already announced plans – and the route – for the UK’s first high-speed railway.