Anne-Marie Trevelyan: outstanding achievements?

[Oxfordblues]

Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP, Secretary of State for Transport 6 September 2022 - 25 October 2022. I would ask readers to nominate if they can the highlights of her tenure and the outstanding contribution she achieved in the furtherance of UK transport policy initiatives.

I can think of absolutely none. Whatever you thought of Grant Schapps at least he was there when Okehampton reopened, though not much else really. Ms Trevelyan seems to have done virtually nothing!

 

[zwk500]

I think it's harsh to criticise here when the government was in mourning for 2 weeks then in crisis for the remaining 4 weeks.

 

[A0]

I think it's harsh to criticise here when the government was in mourning for 2 weeks then in crisis for the remaining 4 weeks.

This -

Policies take many weeks or months to formulate and longer than that to get them implemented and working.

Grant Shapps was Transport Secretary for over 2 years - you'd have expected some policies during that time.

 

[Snow1964]

She did announce delaying GBR legislation, as there were more important other things for the Government

But basically nothing happened during her tenure

 

[507020]

I was dreading the thought of this. Done anything or not, Anne-Marie Trevelyan was if not one of the only improvements in the Trussonomics cabinet, if only for ridding us of Grant “Unofficial Strikes” Shapps at the perfect time, but with her gone, who exactly is the Transport Secretary this week and what will they do differently?

 

[DarloRich]

Nowt, but she was only there for 5 minutes. I doubt she had time to find the stationary cupboard let alone think about strategy!

 

[bluenoxid]

Nowt, but she was only there for 5 minutes. I doubt she had time to find the stationary cupboard let alone think about strategy!

She probably saw many stationary cupboards, as many don’t tend to move.

 

[185]

100 times less poisonous than the predecessor. I only hope that Mark Harper will learn from how she actually met the unions and didn't hide in a cupboard like Shapps (who never used any false names).

imo - Shapps escalated the strikes through his rhetoric and political self promotion, keen to please the Tory right and Truss.

 

[Dr Hoo]

Yes, met the unions.

There was a £60,000,000 boost for marine decarbonisation.

Transport appraisal Guidance (TAG) was updated.

The Avanti agreement was extended by a few months.

(To be fair these were essentially 'continuation' initiatives rather than radical new policies.)

Liz Truss stole the top headline by supporting a 'full' Northern Powerhouse Rail.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Much depends on whether Kevin Foster, also new to DfT in the Truss government, continues as Rail Minister.
Sad to see the exit of his predecessor as Rail Minister Wendy Morton, after the shambles of the fracking vote last week.
Wendy was just getting to grips with the rail portfolio before becoming Chief Whip.
Similar with Chris Heaton-Harris, now at the NI Office.
Transport has suffered from the repeated turnover of ministers recently, all part of the political chaos at Westminster.
The new lot should at least be there for two years or so, until the next general election.

 

[RailWonderer]

Let's see what Mark Harper brings to the table. His wikipedia displays no hints besides being a Gloucestershire MP.

 

[skyhigh]

Ms Trevelyan seems to have done virtually nothing!

Is that really a surprise given the length of time she was present and the state of paralysis the Government was in for various reasons during that short period?

At least she didn't make things worse.

 

[High Dyke]

The most notable achievement so far is seemingly keeping her job.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

One reason I'm glad Trevelyan has gone is that she seemed to suggest the railways are fine as they are (we all know they're certainly not) and appeared to want to focus more on roads, fixing potholes and that. Perhaps she didn't realise that the increasingly toxic and anti-passenger nature of our railways in already forcing people into their cars. I hope Mark Harper will take an active interest in the railways and recognise it as a large part of Britain's transport.

 

[12LDA28C]

Yes, met the unions.

There was a £60,000,000 boost for marine decarbonisation.

Transport appraisal Guidance (TAG) was updated.

The Avanti agreement was extended by a few months.

(To be fair these were essentially 'continuation' initiatives rather than radical new policies.)

Liz Truss stole the top headline by supporting a 'full' Northern Powerhouse Rail.

Liz Truss also of course pledged to reinstate the Eastern leg of HS2 which had been scrapped by Boris. Whether Rishi is as supportive of the project remains to be seen although it seems he voted in favour of the first and second phase.

Let's hope that Harper continues Trevelyan's (slightly) more accommodating stance on the Unions rather than perpetuating Shapps' clueless and confrontational style.

 

[AlterEgo]

Bloody hell she hadn't even brought her own mug into the office cupboard yet!

 

[Acfb]

One reason I'm glad Trevelyan has gone is that she seemed to suggest the railways are fine as they are (we all know they're certainly not) and appeared to want to focus more on roads, fixing potholes and that. Perhaps she didn't realise that the increasingly toxic and anti-passenger nature of our railways in already forcing people into their cars. I hope Mark Harper will take an active interest in the railways and recognise it as a large part of Britain's transport.

Hard to know what to make of Trevelyan. I mean obviously she has always been a right wing brexiteer although she backed the pro HS2 Tugendhat before switching to Truss.

I don't know what she has said on LNER/the ECML. Presumably must have at least said something about service provision at Berwick and Alnmouth.

 

[yorksrob]

Even during her short tenure, she seemed to be less confrontational than her predecessor, so that's an achievement of sorts.

 

[DelayRepay]

My dictionary says outstanding means not yet done, solved or paid.

So on that basis she clearly has many outstanding achievements!

 

[zwk500]

My dictionary says outstanding means not yet done, solved or paid.

So on that basis she clearly has many outstanding achievements!

And she is almost entirely faultless for that situation. The strikes dispute, arguably the largest challenge ok the railway for any Transport Sec, could never have been resolved in 6 weeks let alone the actual parliamentary time.of about 10 minutes she ended up having.

Even during her short tenure, she seemed to be less confrontational than her predecessor, so that's an achievement of sorts.

Not really an achievement, just a change of approach.

 

[Thirteen]

And she is almost entirely faultless for that situation. The strikes dispute, arguably the largest challenge ok the railway for any Transport Sec, could never have been resolved in 6 weeks let alone the actual parliamentary time.of about 10 minutes she ended up having.

Not really an achievement, just a change of approach.

I think by meeting with Union leaders which Shapps never did, she was trying to mend bridges and get things resolved so I would hope Mark Harper will try and do the same.

 

[zwk500]

I think by meeting with Union leaders which Shapps never did, she was trying to mend bridges and get things resolved so I would hope Mark Harper will try and do the same.

No doubt, and it's very welcome, but it's not like the strikes have eased up, is it?

 

[Thirteen]

No doubt, and it's very welcome, but it's not like the strikes have eased up, is it?

It's a start and having someone from Government meet with Union leaders can go a long way even if it doesn't end the strikes.

 

[peri]

Do any of these bozos get enhanced payments for their fifteen minutes?

 

[zwk500]

Do any of these bozos get enhanced payments for their fifteen minutes?

Yes, there's a ministerial salary on top of the MP's normal one. They also get a payoff in lieu of a pension when they're sacked/resign in proportion to the time served. Famously, the person who was education secretary for 1 day under Boris Johnson got a payout of something like £16k.

 

[Nicholas Lewis]

Much depends on whether Kevin Foster, also new to DfT in the Truss government, continues as Rail Minister.
Sad to see the exit of his predecessor as Rail Minister Wendy Morton, after the shambles of the fracking vote last week.
Wendy was just getting to grips with the rail portfolio before becoming Chief Whip.
Similar with Chris Heaton-Harris, now at the NI Office.
Transport has suffered from the repeated turnover of ministers recently, all part of the political chaos at Westminster.
The new lot should at least be there for two years or so, until the next general election.

Kevin Foster has been booted out and Jesse Norman has been appointed as a Minister of State so may have taken over the railways brief.

He wasn't very warm to HS2 when he was Financial Secretary in their ability to deliver to the budget but that was in the middle of covid.

 

[DanNCL]

I don't know what she has said on LNER/the ECML. Presumably must have at least said something about service provision at Berwick and Alnmouth.

Nothing as far as I'm aware. She also said nothing as SoS for Transport on the idea of dualling the A1 throughout Northumberland, something she spent many years shouting about on the backbenches!

 

[317 forever]

Anne-Marie did preside over electric buses being introduced on London bus 125 and the Leicester Orbital route.

Oh wait a minute. These were down to the local Mayors and bus companies' own management.

 

[Busaholic]

I'd say her biggest achievement was getting selected for the Parliamentary seat in the first place. Having family connections in that area, I knew that when the Liberal Alan Beith stood down as MP there'd very likely be a sizeable number of voters who'd switch to a Tory, as he very much owed thousands of votes to his personal reputation. Eric Lubbock and Charles Kennedy were two others who had huge Liberal or Lib Dem majorities which later disappeared.