News from Sheffield Labour

All Aboard! MPs, Councillors and business leaders pledge joint fight for Sheffield

Clive Betts MP and Angela Smith MP; representatives from Sheffield Council including Deputy Leader Councillor David Baker; the Chamber of Commerce; Creative Sheffield; Yorkshire Forward; and SYPTE, met on Friday 20th at the Town Hall to discuss how to make sure Sheffield mounts the best case to be selected as the city that will build the next generation of High Speed trains for Britain.

The Group brought together at the invitation of Clive Betts MP also began to put together a plan of campaign for Sheffield to be connected to the Government’s new High Speed Railway network.

Clive said:

“All politicians and organisations in Sheffield need to work together to ensure that Sheffield is selected as the location for the train manufacturing plant which will bring hundreds of highly skilled and well paid jobs to Sheffield.”

“Yorkshire Forward and Creative Sheffield have already been working on proposals of how to put Sheffield on the best footing and the plans are highly impressive. We need to gather our evidence and use it for effective lobbying.

“Local business and our universities can also be key assets in presenting our case for Sheffield to be chosen.

“Government along with is partners, Hitachi, John Laing and Barclays will pour £7.5 Billion into the project building around 1400 trains and carriages.

“Everyone at the meeting agreed it was also vital that Sheffield be part of the new High Speed Rail Network to make that Sheffield is at the forefront as place for business to invest and flourish.

“Following the meeting I feel we all have a good understanding of how we can work together for Sheffield to be the final stop for the Government’s investment. It was good that the private and public sectors want to work together and that MPs and councillors from Labour and the Lib Dems are prepared to put party differences on one side in the interests of the City as a whole.”

The meeting also agreed to seek to work with Councils and MPs in other cities such as Leeds, Nottingham, and Derby to ensure that a branch of the new High Speed Line comes from the proposed London to Birmingham Line at Rugby at travels on to the East Midlands, South and West Yorkshire. There will be considerable benefit for Sheffield and Rotherham to work together at MP, Council and Chamber level to ensure that both area’s benefit from jointly benefit from those opportunities.

“The Government has set up a committee to review the various options for high speed lines and we need to ensure we have the best case argued with the greatest support possible.”

Other news from Sheffield Labour

• Station Bridge roundtable with Transport Ministers announced - 8 February 2012
• Paul Blomfield MP slams Tory "ambush" of Government Fair Access Director - 8 February 2012
• Angela Smith MP highlights economic problems faced by Barnsley - 7 February 2012