For those of us who can remember the Olympics of the recent past it is wonderful to see not only great sporting achievement in Rio but so much of it coming from British athletes.
Those athletes, from every background, are pulling off a triumph. The London Games with “home advantage” was no “one off”: the team spirit in the British camp must be phenomenal.
Back home we do have our challenges. Post Brexit there can be zero complacency about taking the right decisions and showing the world we are open for business. These include modernising our transport infrastructure and airport expansion.
I have no doubt having gone through the definitive Davies Report that their core recommendation of expansion at Heathrow is the right answer. It bolsters our “hub” airport, provides the best possible linkage for passengers throughout the UK and has the best economic case.
The Government chose to look again at air quality. I suspect the analysis will confirm that it is traffic that is the fundamental issue - not aircraft. To change the location of expansion for this reason would be to wield a large hammer to miss a nut - there are direct ways to tackle car pollution.
One such is effective public transport. Whichever option is decided the airport must have multiple transport links for both passengers and employees. The ready availability of large numbers of potential employees close to the airport, as exists in West London, reducing travel time, is also hugely helpful. Heathrow is incredibly well served by transport routes and its links are improving with Crossrail on stream in 2018 and taking passengers right through to Canary Wharf the following year.
Meanwhile Gatwick and we have Southern Rail. Talks between them and the RMT Union at ACAS have again broken down. Both sides appear to be close. Jobs and wages have been guaranteed. There appears to be agreement on having a second person on the train. Agreement cannot however be reached on the “exceptional circumstances” in which a train can run without this second person (despite the fact that many trains operate routinely on this basis already). With billions being spent upgrading the line and on new trains these issues must be resolved. Personally I support a second person but I also believe that in exceptional circumstances trains should be allowed to get people safely home on a driver-only basis. It is extraordinary that no agreement can be made.
I have asked the Government to intervene to help provide reassurance to the Unions about working practices beyond this franchise. What the Government must also do is deliver on a proper programme of compensation for those whose lives have been so disrupted over recent months. I was promised this last month in the Commons and I am deeply frustrated that since then we have had an increase in fares announced this week but no information on proper compensation. I have continued to address this with the department over the summer and continue to do so.