Sedgefield MP Renews Call For Greater Leamside Unity
Tuesday 7th March 2023
Sedgefield MP, Paul Howell, has today renewed calls for greater cross-party cooperation on the campaign to reopen the Leamside Line following an announcement by the Shadow Transport Secretary on Monday that Labour would build HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) in full— which includes the reopening of the Leamside Line.
Reopening the disused line is a key priority for Mr Howell because of the economic, social, and environmental benefits it would bring. The rail route – a 21 mile stretch from Gateshead, through South Tyneside, Sunderland and County Durham– runs through numerous areas where new jobs and housing could be stimulated by new stations, as well as taking hundreds of cars each day off some the region’s main commuter roads – improving city centre air quality and decarbonising transport.
While Mr Howell is pleased to see Leamside break into the national political arena, he expressed serious reservations about the credibility of Labour’s spending commitments and the impact this will have on ongoing business case for the line.
He said, “While I am thrilled to see the Shadow Transport Secretary support calls to get Leamside reopen, I’m astonished by the sheer scale of Labour’s latest round of spending commitments. The sums just don’t stack-up.”.
Mr Howell is not the only one to express concerns about Labour’s latest spending spree. When asked to detail the cost of her announcements by the Northern Echo, the Shadow Transport Secretary could not specify a price.
Mr Howell continued: “The last thing I want to see is the Leamside Line become a political football. There is so much riding on the ongoing business case and I would hate to see all of our hard-won progress squandered by a shameless attempt to buy votes— our communities deserve better.”
Since his election in 2019, Mr Howell has been a staunch advocate for the Line’s reopening; working closely with colleagues from across the political spectrum to make its case to central government. By working together much has been achieved, just last November a £745 million business case for the Washington Loop was successfully submitted to the Department for Transport.
Mr Howell has repeatedly drawn on his experiences on the Transport Select Committee to make the business case more watertight and thus more likely to secure ministerial support.
After three years working on Leamside, he understands the steps involved to get the project approved. He now worries that Labour’s unaccounted promises will lead to yet further disappointment once the party realises the importance of financial credibility for getting the line approved by civil servants in the Department for Transport.
He said, “Look, irrespective of which party is in government following the next election, the same departmental procedures for securing this funding will apply. Therefore, shouldn’t we be focussing all our efforts on making the case for Leamside today, rather than in eighteen months or six years time?”
To that end, Mr Howell has written to the Shadow Transport Secretary to request a meeting to discuss the details of her latest announcement. “I would love to meet with the Shadow Transport Secretary in good faith to discuss the details of her proposal. If she can provide any new evidence which may get the line approved sooner, then I would highly encourage her to share it with colleagues who have been working on this project for years and in some cases decades. Ultimately the prospects of our communities depend on it.”
Mr Howell reaffirmed his commitment to ensure that ministers are fully appraised of the importance of the Leamside Line in the North East transport plan and has pledge to provide any evidence by the Shadow Transport Secretary to the Department.
