Transport Minister Positive Over Saddleworth Plans
Transport Minister Norman Baker at the wheel of a bus at the First depot in Oldham today.
Transport Minister Norman Baker has indicated that plans to re-open the disused Standedge rail tunnels and build a new station at Diggle are still in the government’s thoughts.
He told Saddleworth News today that the proposals, part of a £530m package of potential improvements included in Network Rail’s Northern Hub report last year, are “on the radar now, and will be considered as part of the next Control Period for Network Rail.” That period covers 2014-2019.
Mr Baker was visiting the First bus depot in Oldham, as well as lending a hand to the by-election campaign of his Liberal Democrat colleague Elwyn Watkins. The overnight snow had led to some delays on the roads this morning, but Mr Baker said he was satisfied with how Oldham and other councils had dealt with bad weather this winter.
He said: “I think councils have done better this year, and I think the Department for Transport has done better this year. And although we had very significant snowfalls in December, it seems to me that the roads have been kept pretty much as clear as could have been expected under the circumstances.”
Mr Baker was keen to point out the the government has already committed money to several transport projects, including the Metrolink extension, despite cutbacks in other areas.
He commented: “We recognise that investing in transport infrastructure is a way of growing jobs, and what we’re about is growing jobs and getting the economy back on track.”
The Transport Minister praised the "pretty well integrated" public transport network in Greater Manchester.
On the issue of overcrowded trains, a particular problem on the line which runs through Greenfield, Mr Baker flagged up the government’s announcement of 2,100 extra carriages by 2020, before adding: “People can have confidence I think that we do recognise the challenge. There’s investment going on for the future to try to make the extra capacity available so that people have a pleasant journey and are attracted to rail and enjoy it when they get there, in the years to come.”
The minister went on to praise the wider public transport network in Greater Manchester as already being relatively well-integrated: “Manchester in my experience has always punched above its weight and made sure its voice is heard… That’s not to say you couldn’t go further. We’re looking at how transport’s delivered in Manchester because Manchester itself is asking us to do that, so we’re looking at that actively.”
When asked about the Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election, Mr Baker claimed it was a two-horse race between the Lib Dems and Labour, and criticised the previous Labour government: “I could give you a hundred and one reasons. They don’t deserve to be given a fillip at the moment, and frankly Ed Miliband’s not really cutting it.”
He went on: “But it’s not just about that, it’s also about the positive things we’re doing in government. We’re punching above our weight in the coalition in terms of the policies we’re delivering, and it’s terribly exciting for me to be able to reel off a whole load of stuff we were campaigning for in opposition, and we’re actually now delivering it. I think people should be proud of what we’re doing in government.”
You can listen to my interview with Mr Baker in full here. My young daughter was with me so, as is often the case with these interviews, there’s a little bit of her on the recording too.
A total of ten candidates are standing. You can read and listen to interviews with Labour’s Debbie Abrahams here, Peter Allen of the Greens here, Pirate Party UK candidate Loz Kaye here, Stephen Morris of the English Democrats here, UKIP’s Paul Nuttall here, and Liberal Democrat Elwyn Watkins here.
Check back later today for an interview with Conservative candidate Kashif Ali. An interview with the BNP’s Derek Adams will be published tomorrow.
The other candidates are David Bishop of the Bus Pass Elvis Party and Nick “The Flying Brick” Delves from the Monster Raving Loony Party.
Polling day is a week on Thursday. Plenty of other well-known political figures have already been campaigning in our area. An interview with the Deputy Prime Minister and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg is here, while a chat with Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable is here. You can hear from Labour leader Ed Miliband here and here, and an interview with Conservative Chairman Baroness Warsi is here.
To read full coverage of the by-election so far from Saddleworth News, click here.
Author: Jude Gidney - Editor
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