Minister who declared pandemic recovery “should not be car led” takes on active travel brief

The UK Government has announced that Trudy Harrison will take the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, which gives her direct oversight of active travel policy.

Replacing the outgoing Chris Heaton-Harris, who heads for a role at the Foreign Office, Harrison is the Conservative MP for Copeland, as elected in 2017.

Harrison has a background that appears to align her with active travel and subjects like sustainability and road safety. Recently she has sought assurances on new road safety measures in Cumbria and in the past few months has shared the opinion that “the post-pandemic recovery will not be car-led.”

Furthermore, Harrison has become an electric bike advocate having tried one for herself, reminding her social media followers that such bikes are now easily obtainable on the Cycle to Work scheme.

“We are choosing a transport system fit for the future – a future of world class public transport infrastructure, green travel, accessible to all and the ability to choose from a range of shared, clean green forms of travel,” she reportedly told the recent Smart Transport Conference.

The Minister has reiterated the Government goal to see “half of all journeys by 2030, especially in towns and cities, to be active travel, so walking, cycles or scooters.”

Arguably the progress thus far toward this objective is lacking and critics have often said that the budget falls far short of spend capable of driving such meaningful change.

Cycling UK were among the organisations to welcome a change in the role, however. It Tweeted: “Great to hear @transportgovuk Minister #TrudyHarrison is taking on the #cycling brief. 2022 promises to be a pivotal year for creating active alternatives to driving in England. We look forward to working with her in making cycling the normal choice for everyday journeys.”

Aside from the active travel brief, Harrison will also be tasked with transport decarbonisation, commercial spaceflight, environment (including air quality), EU and international transport, freight strategy and more. Her voting record can be found here.