What Did New Prime Minister Liz Truss Say About Road Building, Highways, And Transport In Her Maiden Speech?
The last few days alone have been ones of breath-taking constitutional change in the UK, marked by the saddening passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II – no less than the longest-reigning British monarch in history – but also the arrival of a new Prime Minister, in the form of ex-Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss.
Ms Truss claimed the top job in British politics
after emerging victorious in the final round of the Conservative Party
leadership contest against fellow hopeful, and former Chancellor of the
Exchequer, Rishi Sunak.
However, what particularly captured the attention
of many a transport planning professional, was the new Prime Minister’s
mention in her 6th September speech on the steps of 10 Downing Street of
infrastructure priorities that may come to shape much of her time in
office.
What was referenced in Ms Truss’s Downing Street
statement?
Ms Truss touched on various subjects in her maiden
speech as Prime Minister in front of the iconic Downing Street door.
She paid tribute to her predecessor Boris Johnson,
stating that history would “see him as a hugely consequential Prime Minister”,
but also saluted the UK population’s “fundamental belief in freedom, in
enterprise, and in fair play.” She also referenced the challenges of the
“severe global headwinds caused by Russia’s appalling war in Ukraine and the
aftermath of COVID.”
Also notable, however, were the two pledges she
made in her speech to build new roads in the UK.
The new Prime Minister set out infrastructure
investment as central to her three-pronged plan to get the UK through its
present troubles, declaring that as well as seeking more investment and
reducing the burden on families, “we need to build roads, homes and broadband
faster.”
She made a further mention of roads later in her
speech, vowing: “We will get spades in the ground to make sure people are not
facing unaffordable energy bills, and we will also make sure that we are
building hospitals, schools, roads, and broadband.”
What could the new Government’s commitment to road
building look like in practice?
These are interesting times for the UK’s road
network, in more ways than one. Most national road spending is concentrated on
the strategic road network, and the next road investment strategy (RIS) is
entering its ‘decision phase’ (2023 to 2024).
With Ms Truss having seemingly ruled out an early
election with her declaration of aiming to win for the party “in 2024”, her
Government will have a central role to play in what the next RIS looks
like.
Last year, the Department for Transport pinpointed
32 projects to be developed by National Highways for funding consideration in
RIS3. Although one of those schemes – the A21 safety package – has already
begun, National Highways said in its most recent delivery plan that multiple
other projects in the present RIS have been pushed back.
Are you in need of the expertise of the most
suitable transport planning professional for your own project? If so,
please do not hesitate to contact the Transport
Planning Associates team for advice and guidance on how we can best serve
you.
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