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Grayling Out - Shapps In

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jon0844

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Grant Shapps believed to be heading for Transport SoS, according to the Beeb.
MP for Welwyn Hatfield, former Conservative Party chairman, no former transport experience that I can see.
Definitely a Tory insider and a "safe pair of hands".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Shapps

He's my MP. First thing on his agenda will be 8tph for Brookmans Park. He actively sought to get TfL to take over the GN inners with a promise of a higher frequency for this station.

(Guess where he lives)
 
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mmh

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Don't expect any apple carts to be overturned then. He'll follow the leader - he's more than a tad powered by self-interest and knows where his bread is buttered.

It's a bit of a pity Jacob Rees-Mogg doesn't have front bench aspirations, now there would've been a fun appointment just for the reaction here!
 

WatcherZero

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Grant Shapps believed to be heading for Transport SoS, according to the Beeb.
MP for Welwyn Hatfield, former Conservative Party chairman, no former transport experience that I can see.
Definitely a Tory insider and a "safe pair of hands".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_Shapps

Careful what you wish for, Shapps isnt really an improvement, a man embroiled in numerous financial scandals about abusing his position for financial gain (including taking money from housebuilders when housing secretary and running a company under a fake name) and bullying colleagues. His only action of note in a government job seems to be repealing of Home Information Packs.
 

jon0844

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Careful what you wish for, Shapps isnt really an improvement, a man embroiled in numerous financial scandals about abusing his position for financial gain (including taking money from housebuilders when housing secretary and running a company under a fake name) and bullying colleagues. His only action of note in a government job seems to be repealing of Home Information Packs.

I went with him for a tour of the Houses of Parliament and he's very knowledgeable, and engaged with everyone (constituents who didn't necessarily vote for him). He helped me chase BT to get my cabinet upgraded for fibre after waiting six years (due to mislaid paperwork) and has done many other things. He does have a tendency of claiming credit for all the hard work, even when he doesn't work alone, but I suspect that's normal for all politicians.

The downsides are indeed his false name for when he sold 'get rich quick schemes' that basically encouraged people to copy content from the web and 'repackage it' and get AdSense revenue. Ultimately, he got his own site cut off by Google and this prompted him to close down a forum he ran for the community, which was quite good (and allowed comments from people of all views) and it was a genuine shame as it was better than the way people now talk on Facebook groups, with bullying and other hate speech that seems to go unnoticed and unmanaged.
 

Chester1

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Hopefully we will follow up and kick them out. They have had enough chances.

He is more likely to push ahead with rebidding the franchise for 2021 (once Williams review finishes later this year) probably splitting the franchise up again.
 

JaJaWa

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With Boris and Shapps both being pro-TfL this is hopefully great news for further devolution to London.

Shapps also voted for HS2 all 7 times (source).
 

Peter Mugridge

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He's my MP. First thing on his agenda will be 8tph for Brookmans Park. He actively sought to get TfL to take over the GN inners with a promise of a higher frequency for this station.

(Guess where he lives)

He would, however, be unable to act on anything within his ministerial remit which would affect his constituency; parliamentary convention is that ministers have to delegate such matters to another MP to handle.
 

GRALISTAIR

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Here is my guess:
Shapps is not anti-rail and voted for HS2
BoJo has stated there will be a spending spree
BoJo's partner is a bit of an environmentalist
Sajid as Chancellor is pro HS2 and more friendly to environment

I would bet 500 quid - that there will be some big announcement about electrification - I just feel it.
 

mmh

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With Boris and Shapps both being pro-TfL this is hopefully great news for further devolution to London.

Shapps also voted for HS2 all 7 times (source).

I'd say it's very unlikely there'll be any new devolution to TFL. There are two problems in the way of that: TFL is in crisis, and the political control of the GLA.
 

camflyer

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Here is my guess:
Shapps is not anti-rail and voted for HS2
BoJo has stated there will be a spending spree
BoJo's partner is a bit of an environmentalist
Sajid as Chancellor is pro HS2 and more friendly to environment

I would bet 500 quid - that there will be some big announcement about electrification - I just feel it.

This job also gives Shapps the perfect opportunity to lobby for the fixing of the Welwyn bottleneck on the ECML.
 
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Shapps is also very pro Heathrow third runway which is in indication of how committed Boris really is/was to opposing it and not just using it as political football to persuade the voters of Uxbridge to vote for him...
 

Soyyo

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Oh god. Just when you think it can’t get any worse, another total duffer. Let’s hope for a general election.
 

camflyer

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Oh god. Just when you think it can’t get any worse, another total duffer. Let’s hope for a general election.

I'm prepared to give him chance. He's one of the more positive Cabinet appointments and he has at least shown an interest in transport issues in the past. Surely he can't be any more useless than Grayling?
 

hwl

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I'd say it's very unlikely there'll be any new devolution to TFL. There are two problems in the way of that: TFL is in crisis, and the political control of the GLA.
Shapps has actually been working with TfL in the last year on GN Moorgate devolution and making the case to DfT.
He is also a London Reconnections reader...
 

Busaholic

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A pity Grant Shapps wasn't appointed a Parliamentary Private Secretary as that could have made for a rather rude anagram.
 

GRALISTAIR

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This job also gives Shapps the perfect opportunity to lobby for the fixing of the Welwyn bottleneck on the ECML.

Which does need doing - lets be honest.

I'm prepared to give him chance. He's one of the more positive Cabinet appointments and he has at least shown an interest in transport issues in the past. Surely he can't be any more useless than Grayling?

EXACTLY
 

Dave1987

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If the very first thing he says is that he is going to reinstate all the electrification schemes Grayling cancelled I will be willing to give him some slack, else he is no better than Grayling was, and Grayling was an utter disaster. Sod all this hydrogen and bi-mode nonsense, get the bloody wires up.
 

mmh

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Shapps has actually been working with TfL in the last year on GN Moorgate devolution and making the case to DfT.
He is also a London Reconnections reader...

As a backbench MP. It's not unknown for them to have to drop local issues when they become ministers and have the national interest to consider and absorb their time.

Ahem :)

Less (more?) cynically all we're likely to see are "easy" soundbite announcements from various departments in the short term.

Nothing but Brexit matters. If you thought it's dominated politics for 3 years to the exclusion of anything else, you ain't seen nothing yet.
 

ScotGG

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People saying TfL are in crises and no devolution possible are assuming a spending review and chancellor won't change previous decisions. A small grant increase could see it back on the agenda.
 

Skimble19

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Shapps has actually been working with TfL in the last year on GN Moorgate devolution and making the case to DfT.
He is also a London Reconnections reader...
Can’t see any purpose in giving it to TfL. Aside from changing the colour of the doors on the 717s to orange and repainting the stations into drab brown/grey there’s nothing really for them to do that a traditional franchise couldn’t.

All it will do is cause further issues by splitting it from GN and making it into a small isolated part of London Overground.
 

camflyer

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If the very first thing he says is that he is going to reinstate all the electrification schemes Grayling cancelled I will be willing to give him some slack, else he is no better than Grayling was, and Grayling was an utter disaster. Sod all this hydrogen and bi-mode nonsense, get the bloody wires up.

Wires also have a habit of coming down very easily. Overhead wires has never looked a very resilient way of delivering power to a train.
 

mmh

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And a General Election would bring .......?

A Conservative Government propped up by the DUP. No change.

Or perhaps a teeny Tory majority. The party most likely to lose seats in a GE right now is Labour. Labour's only hope is the SNP imploded. Not going to happen.
 

Plethora

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Wires also have a habit of coming down very easily. Overhead wires has never looked a very resilient way of delivering power to a train.

Nonsense. There's a reason that they don't ever get taken down once they go up anywhere. Safest way of facilitating electric traction and all the benefits that go with it.

Let's see what the new govt brings. Just wish Brexit could get out of the way already.
 
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