He is the relentless frontman and loyal defender of the lost “big dog” on Downing Street. Through the prism of conservative politics, Transport Minister Grant Shaps is in a series of victories.
But as the crisis looms in a key part of his day-to-day work – railway management – a series of strange interventions have raised eyebrows and irritation. What exactly, the industry wonders, is happening with Shaps and the Ministry of Transport?
Bursting unrest erupted in strong condemnation in some circles as the largest railway union, RMT, launched a national strike vote amid lost revenue, deep cuts and an uncertain future.
Although the pace of promised reforms and investment is slow, Shaps encourages personal wheezing, which parts of the railway industry believe are at best misled and smelled on YouTube while Rome burns.
Shaps’s allies say the videos, shot at a low budget, reach a fresh audience – and the minister who reveals them turned out to be relatively viral. Using the acting talents of his past life as Michael Green, when he worked as a market marketer, Shaps shook his head, promising to put an end to “annoying” train announcements, and announced a public vote to choose where to go. set up a central railway office and rebranded a small ticket sale promotion such as the Big Sale of British Railways.
Another Shapps production – explaining the steps to deal with noisy cars – was expected to drop out this weekend.
Several railway figures openly expressed their displeasure, but others who were off the payroll came out on fire. In a shocking editorial, Nigel Harris, head of Rail, described Shaps, an avid pilot, as the least engaged secretary he has met in 25 years, accusing him of “not just a shameful lack of leadership, but also shameful lack of interest. In a conversation with Harris’s Ministry of Transport, it was said that the Secretary of Transport “does not deal with railways.”
Shaps with Michael Portillo in a photo shoot to promote a competition for small and large cities to argue why they should host the headquarters of Great British Railways. Photo: Ministry of Transport / PA
Even common support organizations such as the Railway Industry Association (RIA) have made desperate statements. In April, the RIA marked 900 days since the government updated its railway engineering pipeline, “leaving the industry in the dark.” Under Shaps’ predecessor Chris Grayling, the annual DfT update was crucial for rail suppliers to plan ahead.
For some, a lack of commitment is not necessarily evil. A senior railway official says: “Grayling would constantly interfere in rail transport … the danger with Shaps is that he does not do so until a small political advantage or video appears on TikTok.”
Christian Volmar, a railway historian and writer, says: “He is one of the most effective communicators in government. But he has no interest in transport other than general aviation and where he can fly. The man who runs the car is called A Gilligan and is number 10.
This portrayal of the relative influence of Andrew Gilligan, Boris Johnson’s transport adviser, is disputed by government insiders, although No. 10’s interest in rail investment as a way to “raise levels” has kept the DfT on a tighter leash than some departments. According to a well-located railway source, Shaps is “stuck between a rock and an anvil … every big message has to be sent by Gilligan to number 10 for review and change, and the Ministry of Finance keeps all the threads in the purse.”
Controls have been intensified, with a large state subsidy – £ 15 billion since the start of the pandemic to replace lost revenue from the number of passengers remaining stubbornly below pre-pandemic levels – and investment battles shrinking DfTs between №10 and № 11 turnkey solutions for HS2 and the Integrated Railway Plan. As one industry leader puts it: “The government is more involved than ever, even under British Rail.”
Ironically, government micro-government was identified as a problem in Williams’ review of the old franchise system, which was abolished due to economic necessity at Shaps in 2020. But as the industry expects reforms in the long-delayed Williams-Shaps plan, the desire to intervene in the little things it will still be suppressed.
The big British railway sale was organized in the office of Schaps and is believed to have come as a surprise to some, not least the nascent British Railways. Even within DfT, senior officials expressed shock at the final presentation: “It was mind-boggling. What were they thinking? “
Officials complained about Shaps’ lack of attention to detail and unwillingness to be informed by experts outside his inner circle. “He doesn’t meet people, he just sees his immediate team. For him, everything has to be written on two sides of the paper. ”
Shaps’s allies reaffirm that he will politely reject longer briefings – but say coherence is crucial to running a large-scale department where all sectors were plunged into crisis during Covid. “He brings home a red box every night and reads everything,” said one.
Give the man a damn chance … he has a £ 96 billion rail settlement and is trying to restructure the railroad industry, an ally of the Shapps
Sources insist that rail transport remains the heart of his ministry – and takes a disproportionate amount of time compared to cars and even buses. Schaps said he wanted transport work and, as a rail passenger, understood the passengers’ point of view, they said. One said: “Give the man a bloody chance … he has £ 96 billion in rail settlement and is trying to restructure the rail industry” through the Williams-Schaps plan.
For Anthony Smith, CEO of Transport Focus, “the sour test is whether the investment keeps coming … and this Secretary of State did it.”
Nevertheless, it is widely believed that Shaps is promoting himself, like Liz Trus, for a cabinet position that is more in his interest.
“All these things would be fine if he paid attention to everything else. There are so many big problems that he ignores, ”says Harris. The videos are trivial but also harmful, he said: a vote in the central office that potentially eradicates thousands of people from Milton Keynes at public whim could cause vital personnel to bleed: “When you move, you bleed.”
The Rail editor is clear: “He is the worst transport secretary I can remember. And yet he is actually a very good communicator – and he could do a lot of good. “
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