Shapps’ shale shutdown: Fracking group ‘frustrated and disappointed’ by U-turn on moratorium October 28, 2022 A fracking advocacy group has said it is “deeply frustrated and disappointed” by a government U-turn reintroducing the moratorium for the practice. Grant Shapps confirmed to Parliament this week the UK would “not support shale extraction” unless science can show “categorically that it can be done safely”. The U-turn on Liz Truss’ decision to lift [...]
Bus fares to be capped at £2 this winter in England September 3, 2022 Bus journeys are to be capped at £2 for a temporary period next year as a government measure to tackle the cost of living crisis. A cap will be introduced in England from January to March next year, as households face soaring energy bills this winter. The Department for Transport (DfT) said its £60m scheme [...]
UK pledges to share expertise and help Ukraine rebuild transport network August 25, 2022 The UK Government has pledged to help Ukraine rebuild its war-damaged transport network, sharing private sector expertise. The news comes a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson made an impromptu visit to Kyiv. The agreement was signed by transport secretary Grant Shapps and its Ukrainian counterpart Oleksandr Kubrakov today, a day after the country’s Independence [...]
Crossrail bosses to advise Israel on building £33bn Tel Aviv metro August 24, 2022 Bosses of Crossrail are to advise on a new state-of-the-art £33bn metro system for the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. Transport secretary Grant Shapps is in Israel this week and has met his counterpart, agreeing the deal as part of a post-Brexit memorandum of understanding signed earlier in the summer. This comes after the completion [...]
As UK faces three days of crippling train strikes Grant Shapps reveals 16-point plan August 18, 2022 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has unveiled a 16-point plan in a bid to tackle ‘Luddite’ unions, as industrial action brings the UK to a standstill. The announcement comes as 40,000 rail workers in the RMT and TSSA unions walk out on Thursday bringing much of the UK rail network to a grinding halt. A second [...]
Tory leadership: Shapps and Raab back Rishi Sunak to be next PM July 12, 2022 Transport secretary Grant Shapps and deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab have backed Rishi Sunak to be the next Tory party leader, with the former chancellor today vowing “a return to traditional conservative economic values” if he becomes Prime Minister. Shapps’ endorsement comes after he decided to call off his faltering campaign and throw his lot [...]
Transport secretary Grant Shapps launches Tory leadership bid July 9, 2022 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has launched his bid for the Tory leadership. “It is easy to criticise Boris after keeping one’s head down for years while being happy to benefit from his patronage,” he told the Sunday Times. “I am glad that I did not do that. “I have not spent the last few turbulent [...]
Government modernising railways despite ‘unions’ best efforts’, says Shapps June 29, 2022 The UK Government is modernising the railway network “despite the best efforts of unions,” Grant Shapps said today. The transport secretary’s comments came as he announced £1bn worth of funding to replace the Victorian signalling system along the East Coast Main Line (ECML) – which connects London to Edinburgh – with a digital one. “We’re [...]
Shapps warns RMT the country ‘coped’ with three strikes due to ‘collapse of commuting’ June 27, 2022 Grant Shapps has warned most of the country “coped” during last week’s strikes due to the “collapse of commuting” and increasingly hybrid working culture. Commenting after the third day of industrial action by tens-of-thousands of RMT union members, he said they had struck to “ defend indefensible working practices” which needed an update. Writing in [...]
Mayor pleads with DfT to hold urgent talks over TfL long-term funding June 10, 2022 London mayor Sadiq Khan has pleaded with the Department for Transport (DfT) to hold talks over reaching a long-term funding for the battered Transport for London (TfL). The latest funding round amounted to £200m and is set to expire on 24 June. “While we are grateful for the support you have provided to date, its [...]