Swindon to Kemble Railway

Part of the debate – in Westminster Hall at 12:30 pm on 27 October 2009.

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Photo of David Drew David Drew Labour, Stroud 12:30, 27 October 2009

I agree totally. In his letter to the chairman of the RDA, whom I saw last week, my right hon. Friend the Minister for the South West gave the clearest steer possible that the money should be allocated, if for no other reason than that it could be lost anyway. If we do not get the money, it is not as though someone else in the south-west will-it is likely that it will be lost. That is why this debate is crucial. I refer to that letter, which my hon. Friend the Minister knows about. As far as I can see, all the ducks are in a row, but the sad thing is that we have had them in a row before and lost out nevertheless.

That is the key issue. Where is the money, how do we secure it and who might not have reached the same stage as us? It is genuinely an all-party issue. All parties would gain by it, because it directly and indirectly involves a whole range of constituencies, including in south Wales.

By pure chance, I happened to chair the South West Regional Select Committee yesterday, which was not surprising as there were only three of us and I drew the short straw. In the papers that we received on the issue, it is clear that not all the environment directors across the different local authorities represented have necessarily given their go-ahead. However, the key body seems to be the South West Strategic Leaders' Board. I hope that my hon. Friend will have some interesting things to say about how central Government are lobbying to redouble the line. It must be done for the reasons that I have said.