Following the recent UK general election results that saw the opposition Labour Party claim 412 seats in the House of Commons – propelling Sir Keir Starmer into Downing Street as Prime Minister – the new administration has been making ministerial appointments across the various Government departments and setting out its policies.

One such vital appointment has been that of Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh to the post of Secretary of State for Transport, succeeding the Conservatives’ Mark Harper. 

What strategic transport priorities has the new Government set out? 

Ms Haigh has wasted little time in communicating her ethos for the Department for Transport (DfT). With the new administration still less than a week old, she convened officials and laid out five strategic priorities that the department said would place transport “at the heart of mission-driven government.” 

Those priorities are, as stated in a press release on 10th July: 

  • Improving performance on the railways and driving forward rail reform 
  • Improving bus services and growing usage across the UK 
  • Transforming infrastructure to work for the entire country, promoting social mobility and addressing regional inequality 
  • Delivering more environmentally friendly transport 
  • Achieving the better integration of transport networks 

Transport consultants and their clients are likely to take much interest in Ms Haigh’s declaration that DfT would “think about infrastructure and services together at every turn.” 

The new Transport Secretary emphasised the big-picture significance of the department’s work, stating: “Growth, net zero, opportunity, women and girls’ safety, health – none of these can be realised without transport as a key enabler.” 

CIHT gives positive reception to the Transport Secretary’s words 

Among those responding to the now Labour-led DfT’s declarations of intent was Sue Percy CBE, chief executive at the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT). 

Ms Percy commented that the learned society welcomed the new Government “providing the vision to outline their strategic priorities for transport in the first week of their new administration. CIHT has consistently called for governments to show certainty and a clarity of vision to support the highways and transportation sector.” 

She added that the charity was “pleased to see” how closely the new Secretary of State’s declared priorities echoed those the CIHT had identified in its own manifesto. That document, entitled A transport network fit for all our futures, had drawn attention to the importance of such matters as integrating transport, making transport greener, and expanding bus services. 

The CIHT chief executive concluded that the organisation would be “reaching out to the Government to offer our support, advice, and technical expertise to deliver on these aims.” 

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