Sunday 7 June 2009

Sadiq Khan MP gets transport

The Eye congratulates Sadiq Khan on his appointment as Minister of State for Transport.

A bowler tip to Behind the Water Tower for this link to the Wandsworth Guardian which profiles the MP for Tooting.

With Lord Adonis sitting in the unelected Upper House it has been decided that Mr Khan will also sit in cabinet and join the Privy Council.

The Rt Hon Sadiq Khan has some experience of transport as his father Amanullah, a trained engineer who came to Britain in the 1960's, worked on the buses as a driver.

A former chairman of Liberty he has first hand experience of the democratic deficit, having been bugged talking to a gaoled constituent by counter-terrorism officers.


He has also taken a keen interest in Tube Lines' work in his constituency.

Sadiq Khan's elevation to the Privy Council and cabinet was announced via the MP's twitter feed on Saturday.

The Rt Hon Sadiq Khan's blog can be found here, although he last posted on Wednesday.

Interesting times!

UPDATE: This just in from Nicholas Hill over at XBriefing...

Earlier this year Mr Khan sought to blame recent increases in rail and underground passenger fares on ‘the Tories’.

In his March constituency newsletter Totally Tooting he stated:

"In January…an annual train or tube season ticket to Central London went up by £180... In the current economic climate, politicians should be helping people to save money. Yet the Tories are doing the opposite. They don’t seem to care."


Thanks for this Nicholas. As Khan obviously 'does care' presumably we can look to a reversal of current government policy which is designed to see the passenger pick up a greater share of the railway tab?

No, thought not!