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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2020/jan/28/labour-says-government-claim-to-be-reversing-beeching-rail-cuts-meaningless-live-news
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| Labour says government claim to be reversing Beeching rail cuts 'meaningless' - live news | Labour says government claim to be reversing Beeching rail cuts 'meaningless' - live news |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen | Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen |
| The migration advisory committee is recommending that the post-Brexit immigration salary threshold should be cut from £30,000 (the level proposed by the government when Theresa May was PM) to £25,600, the BBC’s Norman Smith reports. | |
| At this stage in the electoral cycle (just after a big election win for the governing party, and with the opposition in the middle of a leadership election), opinion polls don’t count for much. But if you do want to know what the polls are saying, the Times’ Matt Chorley has the latest figures from YouGov. | |
| Boris Johnson’s government spent £46m on a “Get Ready for Brexit” campaign in October, but demonstrated little evidence it left the public better prepared, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has found. My colleague Rajeev Syal has the full story here. | Boris Johnson’s government spent £46m on a “Get Ready for Brexit” campaign in October, but demonstrated little evidence it left the public better prepared, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has found. My colleague Rajeev Syal has the full story here. |
| Boris Johnson and his ministers want to improve regional connectivity, in particular rail travel in the north of England, and today Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, is announcing outline proposals to reopen two rail lines: the Ashington-Blyth-Tyne Line in Northumberland, and the the Fleetwood line in Lancashire. As with the government plans for “40 new hospitals”, there is no firm commitment to go ahead with the work; just a seed funding commitment to explore the idea. My colleague Gwyn Topham’s story about the plan is here. | Boris Johnson and his ministers want to improve regional connectivity, in particular rail travel in the north of England, and today Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, is announcing outline proposals to reopen two rail lines: the Ashington-Blyth-Tyne Line in Northumberland, and the the Fleetwood line in Lancashire. As with the government plans for “40 new hospitals”, there is no firm commitment to go ahead with the work; just a seed funding commitment to explore the idea. My colleague Gwyn Topham’s story about the plan is here. |
| As a relatively minor transport announcement, that’s fine, but Shapps is facing criticism today because he is presenting this as part of a plan, first announced during the general election campaign, to reverse the 1960s Beeching cuts that closed more than 4,000 miles of track and more than 2,000 stations (in the era when mass car ownership was taking off, making rail less competitive). Shapps first floated this idea during the general election campaign. | As a relatively minor transport announcement, that’s fine, but Shapps is facing criticism today because he is presenting this as part of a plan, first announced during the general election campaign, to reverse the 1960s Beeching cuts that closed more than 4,000 miles of track and more than 2,000 stations (in the era when mass car ownership was taking off, making rail less competitive). Shapps first floated this idea during the general election campaign. |
| In a highly crowded field, this was seen as one of the most misleading tweets of the general election, because it implied that the Beeching cuts might to totally or largely reversed, when in fact £500m would only pay for a few miles of new track. The government is still giving that impression today. The press release from the Department for Transport says Shapps is making an announcement that “will that will drive forward the reversal of the controversial Beeching cuts”. | In a highly crowded field, this was seen as one of the most misleading tweets of the general election, because it implied that the Beeching cuts might to totally or largely reversed, when in fact £500m would only pay for a few miles of new track. The government is still giving that impression today. The press release from the Department for Transport says Shapps is making an announcement that “will that will drive forward the reversal of the controversial Beeching cuts”. |
| Labour says today’s promise is “meaningless” without much more substantial investment. In a statement Andy McDonald, the shadow transport secretary, said: | Labour says today’s promise is “meaningless” without much more substantial investment. In a statement Andy McDonald, the shadow transport secretary, said: |
| Later we will get a much more significant investment announcement from the government - the decision about Huawei. | Later we will get a much more significant investment announcement from the government - the decision about Huawei. |
| Here is the agenda for the day. | Here is the agenda for the day. |
| Morning: Boris Johnson chairs a meeting of the national security council to decide whether Huawei will be allowed a role in building the UK’s 5G infrastructure. | Morning: Boris Johnson chairs a meeting of the national security council to decide whether Huawei will be allowed a role in building the UK’s 5G infrastructure. |
| 10am: The migration advisory committee publishes a report on how an Australian-style points-based immigration system could work in the UK. | 10am: The migration advisory committee publishes a report on how an Australian-style points-based immigration system could work in the UK. |
| 11.30am: Matt Hancock, the health secretary, takes questions in the Commons. | 11.30am: Matt Hancock, the health secretary, takes questions in the Commons. |
| Afternoon: Ministers are due to make oral statements in parliament about the Huawei decision. Nicky Morgan, the culture secretary, is expected to make the statement in the Lords, but it is not clear yet who will address the Commons. | Afternoon: Ministers are due to make oral statements in parliament about the Huawei decision. Nicky Morgan, the culture secretary, is expected to make the statement in the Lords, but it is not clear yet who will address the Commons. |
| 2.45pm: Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, chairs a meeting of the joint ministerial committee, which includes ministers from the devolved administrations, in Cardiff to discuss Brexit. | 2.45pm: Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, chairs a meeting of the joint ministerial committee, which includes ministers from the devolved administrations, in Cardiff to discuss Brexit. |
| 3.35pm: Lord Berkely, former deputy chair of the Oakervee review of HS2, gives evidence to the Lords economic affairs committee. | 3.35pm: Lord Berkely, former deputy chair of the Oakervee review of HS2, gives evidence to the Lords economic affairs committee. |
| As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web. I plan to post a summary when I wrap up. | As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web. I plan to post a summary when I wrap up. |
| You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe roundup of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads. | You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe roundup of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads. |
| If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow. | If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow. |
| I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone. | I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone. |
| If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. | If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. |