"Let me start by saying something that I think everybody in the Chamber will agree with. The east coast main line is an absolutely vital economic artery, pumping the lifeblood of our economy—jobs, investment and growth—through all the regions and cities that it serves from London to Edinburgh. That is …..." Hugh Bayley - View Speech
"It is useful that the hon. Gentleman says that we should listen to Passenger Focus, because it currently gives the East Coast service the highest level of satisfaction that it has received since Passenger Focus starting doing its surveys in 1999...." Hugh Bayley - View Speech
"Our speeches are time limited and we get no injury time for interventions, so I must make some progress.
The good performance that East Coast has achieved is all the more surprising because it has not been given the security of tenure of a 10 to 15-year franchise that the …..." Hugh Bayley - View Speech
"I, too, congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough (Andy McDonald) on securing an important debate.
The headquarters of the east coast main line has been in York ever since the line was built in the 19th century, and hundreds of skilled jobs in my constituency depend on its …..." Hugh Bayley - View Speech
"They would, and rightly so but they should also do so for a public sector operator.
I was on the Public Bill Committee—they were called Standing Committees in those days—that considered the Railways Act 1993. We were told that the railways had to be privatised because there would then be …..." Hugh Bayley - View Speech
"No; I think I will make progress, because I have only a few minutes.
I ask the Minister to consider whether it makes sense to run a private franchise on the west coast main line, which he is obliged to do—Richard Branson will sue him if he does not—and continue, …..." Hugh Bayley - View Speech
"I am grateful to the Minister. Lord Adonis was saying that we would not want to run the east coast as a public operation indefinitely. No Opposition Member is asking for the east coast to be run as a public sector operation indefinitely; we are asking that it remain with …..." Hugh Bayley - View Speech
"I should tell colleagues that I am expecting Parliament to prorogue this afternoon, probably around 3.25 pm, and it might be helpful to have an informal understanding that we will seek to finish the debate by that time. We can continue until prorogation, but when it happens I must immediately …..." Hugh Bayley - View Speech