Election of Select Committee Chairs

Tonight the Speaker announced the results of the election for Select Committee Chairs.

Most importantly, for the Railway Industry, Lilian Greenwood was elected to succeed Louise Ellman as Chair of the Transport Select Committee.

Louise had served for two Parliaments and therefore, under parliamentary rules, was unable to stand again.

Eye welcomes Lilian Greenwood, the MP for Nottingham South, to this important committee that scrutinises government transport policy and decisions.

Industry will be pleased that Lilian specifically mentioned the Rail Supply Chain in her candidacy statement:

"Promises have been made that affect almost all our constituencies, and thousands of jobs (including in the supply chain) are in the balance. As Chair I would be a strong voice for rural and urban transport improvements, as well as a critic of bad schemes."

Old railway hands will remember Lilian as both Shadow Secretary of State for Transport and Shadow Rail Minister in the previous Parliament.

A number of other Select Committee chairs were also announced this evening, all of which are relevant to our industry:

Treasury Select Committee - Nicky Morgan (Loughborough);

BEIS Select Committee - Rachel Reeves (Leeds West);

Brexit Select Committee - Hilary Benn (Leeds Central);

International Trade Select Committee - Angus MacNeil (Na h-Eileanan an Iar)

Education Select Committee - Robert Halfon (Harlow)

Eye suggests engaging with all the above early and often - as they may not necessarily be aligned with the government policy of the day!

Treasury Committee appoints Herod to advise on childcare

This really is just too good.

The Treasury Select Committee, chaired by Andrew Tyrie MP, has launched an inquiry into “The Economics of HS2".

And quite right too.

But what's this!

Tyrie has appointed, as a specialist adviser on transport economics, one Stephen Glaister.

Glaister, readers will recall, is of course the widely respected Professor of Transport and Infrastructure in the Centre for Transport Studies at Imperial College London.

He also just happens to be the director of the RAC Foundation; an organisation which, as any fule kno, is implacably opposed to new railways.

Here is Prof Glaister, in full modally agnostic flow, in a 2010 piece for the Gruan's Comment is free:

“The brutal truth is that for all the attention lavished on the railways, not least by politicians, it is a niche activity and will remain so – even if capacity is increased by a quarter, or a half, or even doubled. Anyway, significant expansion of the rail network is out of the question. Or at least it should be.”
 
Good news indeed for those looking for a balanced study into the economics of HS2.

Eye wonders what on earth could have induced HS2 denier Andrew Tyrie MP to appoint Glaister to such an important role?

No matter.

The select committee's first session on Tuesday 5 November will hear evidence from a range of witnesses both pro and anti the new North-South railway.

Eye will be listening with particular interest to the views of the last witness, who also hails from Imperial College...