{"id":152991,"date":"2024-11-29T18:34:02","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T08:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=58226"},"modified":"2024-11-29T18:34:02","modified_gmt":"2024-11-29T08:34:02","slug":"uk-transport-secretary-resigns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=152991","title":{"rendered":"UK Transport Secretary resigns"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Black Friday for the flame-haired Louise Haigh, and red faces within the UK Government. The Transport Secretary has resigned amid revelations of a historical criminal conviction. The government minister was heavily involved in top-line reform of the railway industry in the UK, including implementing the government\u2019s flagship policy to nationalise most aspects of the railway.<\/strong>
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Louise Haigh, who is now returning to the back benches as a constituency member of parliament for the Sheffield constituency of Heeley, has resigned from her post as Transport Secretary. She did so in the early hours of Friday morning, after the national newspaper The Times of London broke the story of her conviction for a historic criminal offence. It is understood that the politician was convicted of a fraud offence over a falsified report of a mobile phone theft.<\/p>\n

Mugging and mobile phone<\/h2>\n

In a most embarrassing outcome for the fledgling UK government. Keir Starmer, the Prime Minister, has been forced to accept the first resignation from his cabinet. Shortly after 6 a.m., the outspoken Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh, tendered her resignation. The reason given was the front-page revelation that she had been charged with fraud in 2014, concerning a mobile phone theft the previous year. The incident happened before she became an elected politician and was still an employee of an insurance company.<\/p>\n

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Labour’s former transport secretary is no longer at the controls of rail reform in the UK. Image: \u00a9 Office of Louised Haigh MP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The incident has been made all the more embarrassing for the left-wing Labour Party, elected in July of this year, because of previous indiscretions. Louise Haigh had been particularly critical of the previous right-wing Conservative government. She had made furious comments over the conduct of the Conservative Party during the pandemic lockdown – naming the then Prime Minister Boris Johnston as the ringleader in a \u201cone rule for them\u201d scandal, culminating in boozy parties at Ten Downing Street – the official residence of the Prime Minister in London.<\/p>\n

DP World and P&O scandal<\/h2>\n

The criminal charge revolves around a street robbery in 2013. Haigh was assaulted (mugged) in London, and in her statement afterwards, she reported a mobile phone to be stolen. She did however later find the phone was actually among her belongings at home, but did not amend her statement to police, nor did she respond to questioning at a later date. Despite being the victim of an assault, it was this subsequent action which resulted in the fraud conviction. It should be noted that the criminal conviction is now \u2018spent\u2019 – it does not appear on her criminal record.<\/p>\n

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Loiuse Haigh had been prasied for championing the plight of UK seafarers. Image: \u00a9 Office of Louised Haigh MP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Haigh had already been at the centre of controversy for the UK Government. She was called out for her bitter comments over the conduct of P&O Ferries<\/a>, as reported by our sister service, WorldCargo News. She referred angrily to employment practices which had seen British seafarers dismissed, only to be replaced by cheaper labour. Haigh had publicly called for a boycott of the company – a move which encouraged P&O owners, DP World, to issue a veiled threat to withdraw investment in the showpiece intermodal port terminal at London Gateway. This happened on the eve of a stage-managed investment summit. DP World has since withdrawn the threat, and expansion is underway at London Gateway<\/a> – which may have encouraged shipping line Maersk to switch some services to the port.<\/p>\n

Hendy, Morgan or whom?<\/h2>\n

Speculation is already rife about who may replace Louise Haigh as Transport Secretary in the UK government. It would be most unusual if the disgraced peer Lord Peter Hendy<\/a>, who is the current rail minister, was elevated to the cabinet. Hendy, a former chair of Network Rail, was appointed rail minister (a junior post under the Transport Secretary) despite his position in the upper House of Lords. Hendy may be considered too controversial an appointment after revelations about bullying behaviour – including the recent revelations that he pressured a Network rail contractor to dismiss a whistle-blowing engineer who had revealed safety concerns at London\u2019s Euston Station – the eventual terminal of the vast HS2 high-speed rail project.<\/p>\n

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An unfortunate coincidence posted today on the website of the constituency MP for Sheffield Heeley. Image: \u00a9 Office of Louised Haigh MP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There could be a shuffle in the ministerial pack, which could see the Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan assume the post he was tipped for in the \u2018shadow\u2019 cabinet. Morgan is, however, already a government minister with responsibility for \u201cEarly Education\u201d. Perhaps more immediately, will Haigh be clearing her desk at Horseferry Road, and boarding an early train to Sheffield. At least she\u2019ll have an opportunity to reflect on her short term in government from the seat of a new train, which she can claim some part in procuring for the Midland Main Line upgrade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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