Tuesday, December 3, 2024
Electric VehiclesLatestNews

Heidi Alexander announced as new Transport Secretary

Labour MP for Swindon South Heidi Alexander has been appointed as the new Transport Secretary following the resignation of Louise Haigh.

Haigh, who resigned from the role after she admitted to a previous criminal offence, had taken on the role as Transport Secretary following Labour’s victory in the July General Election.

Alexander is the former Deputy Mayor of London for Transport, working under Mayor Sadiq Khan.

In the role, she was also the Deputy Chair of Transport for London. In the position she also promoted active travel and especially cycling.

Prior to this, Alexander served as a Member of Lewisham London Borough Council for Evelyn from 2004 until 2010, and was Deputy Mayor of Lewisham and Cabinet Member for Regeneration from 2006 to 2010.

She was then elected to Parliament at the 2010 general election and has also served as the Shadow Health Secretary for a short period when Jeremy Corbyn was leader on the opposition, before resigning that role and standing down as an MP in 2018 when she took up the Deputy Mayoral role.

Other notable positions including working as a Parliamentary Private Secretary to Mary Creagh after her election in 2010, who was then the Shadow Environment Secretary. 

Industry reaction:

Vicky Read, CEO of ChargeUK said:

“I’m pleased to welcome Heidi Alexander to her new role as Secretary of State for Transport.

“There has been much focus on the EV transition and the role of our sector in recent days and weeks. With a consultation on the ZEV mandate imminent, the Secretary of State arrives at a critical juncture in the UK’s road to net zero.

“The Government can take the path towards green jobs, cleaner air and continued investment in charging by sticking to a strong ZEV mandate and by supporting drivers to switch to electric. Or it can opt to backslide on its ambition, unpicking the mandate to deliver fewer electric vehicles onto the UK’s road in the coming years. This would be bad news not just for our industry, but also for the UK’s wider ambition towards achieving net zero targets. 

“We’re looking forward to working with the new Transport Secretary to ensure the UK stays on track and continues to blaze a trail in rolling out critical EV charging infrastructure.”

Railway Industry Association Chief Executive Darren Caplan said:

“We welcome Heidi Alexander to her role as the Government’s new Transport Secretary, and wish her well.

“Ms Alexander has a number of key priorities in her in-tray such as delivering the Government’s major rail restructuring plans, and setting out a roadmap for rail investment and enhancement projects, as well as a strategy for rolling stock procurement and refurbishment to support business confidence. She also needs to manage plans to take HS2 to Euston including the redevelopment of the station.” 

“The new Secretary of State’s experience in devolved Government will be an asset in working with Metro Mayors to increase north-south rail capacity in the future which can support the strong passenger and freight growth levels forecast in the decades ahead.” 

“Separately, RIA would like to thank Louise Haigh for all her work as Transport Secretary. We wish her well too.”

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