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news
Heidi Alexander cycling in pop-up bike lane (@Heidi_Labour on Twitter)New Transport Secretary – and cyclist – Heidi Alexander backed to put “cycling front and centre” after shock resignation of Louise Haigh over decade-old phone fraud offence
The new Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander, has been backed by cycling campaigners to put riding bikes “front and centre” of the Labour government’s new integrated transport strategy, in the wake of the shock resignation of Louise Haigh on Friday morning, following reports that she pleaded guilty to a fraud offence over a decade ago.
The MP for Swindon South, Alexander was elected to her second stint in parliament in July, after spending three years as the Deputy Mayor of London for Transport between 2018 and 2021, during which time she championed cycling – while riding a bike herself – during the Covid pandemic, tackled Conservative opposition to cycling infrastructure schemes, and argued that politicians had a “moral responsibility” to prevent road deaths and injuries.
The 49-year-old has been hailed by cycling activists as a “great” replacement for the departing Haigh, who was praised by Cycling UK on Friday for her “outstanding work in championing active travel” during her ultimately brief spell as Transport Secretary.
Last night, the Times and Sky reported that Haigh, the MP for Sheffield Heeley, had been given a conditional discharge by magistrates in 2013 after admitting telling police she had lost her mobile phone in a mugging, only for it to be later found.
The reports prompted Haigh to resign from her ministerial role, marking the first resignation from Sir Keir Starmer’s government and only a day after she launched Labour’s new ten-year Integrated National Transport Strategy.
In her resignation letter, Haigh said the conviction came after she was mugged as a 24-year-old in 2013, two years before she became a MP.
“In the immediate aftermath, I reported the incident to the police. I gave the police a list of my possessions that I believed had been stolen, including my work phone,” she said.
“Some time later, I discovered that the handset in question was still in my house. I should have immediately informed my employer and not doing so straight away was a mistake.”
When questioned by police, who were alerted to her use of the missing phone, she said that she was advised by her solicitor not to comment during that interview, advice she regrets following. Haigh later pleaded guilty to making a false report to police at a magistrates’ court, six months before becoming an MP at the 2015 election, and received a discharge, the “lowest possible outcome”.
> Labour government to invest "unprecedented levels of funding" in cycling
Since taking on her role as Transport Secretary in July, Haigh has been viewed as a vocal and consistent advocate for cycling in the UK.
However, before taking on her ministerial duties, the MP for Sheffield Heeley was also on the receiving end last November of some criticism for comments she made about cycling, after she responded to a question about whether she was a cyclist herself with the reply, “God no, have you been to Sheffield?” – a quip she later insisted was a “light-hearted joke”.
Since then, Haigh has made a point of being photographed cycling on several occasions, including on an e-bike ride though Sheffield’s hills with three-time Olympic gold medallist and South Yorkshire’s active travel commissioner Ed Clancy and, most recently, on the Trans-Pennine Trail (N62) with author and journalist Laker and Active Travel England chief Chris Boardman.
And in August, she pledged, despite very little emphasis on active travel during the election campaign, that the government will invest “unprecedented levels of funding” in cycling and walking, as well as developing a new road safety strategy.
Speaking to Laura Laker for a piece in the Guardian, Haigh explained how active travel would form an important part of the government’s approach to improving health and the environment, adding that “walking and cycling and moving more are essential to solving both of these in the immediate term and in the long term”.
“There's lots of evidence to show that will reduce the number of GP appointments by hundreds of thousands, if not millions,” Haigh said. “We absolutely want to make sure that we invest at unprecedented levels.”
Earlier this month, she also called for an end to the “perverse outcomes” that deliver “half a cycle lane and then you’re chucked out onto a dual carriageway”, while promising that long-term funding for cycle routes could be in the pipeline from next year.
And on Thursday, Haigh launched a new integrated transport strategy for England, which she said aims to provide a “people first approach” by supporting local areas to improve all forms of transport and provide “seamless” journeys from door to door, building on the example set by Greater Manchester’s multi-faceted Bee Network, which brings together bus, metro, and active travel under one name.
“I am no Victoria Pendleton but it’s amazing how far you can go and how much better you feel”
But with Haigh now gone from her post, what does Heidi Alexander’s unexpected appointment as transport secretary mean for cycling and active travel in the UK?
Well, for starters, the Swindon MP is a much more established convert to cycling than her predecessor.
Despite calling for tougher laws on dangerous cycling during her first spell as a MP in 2016, after resigning from her parliamentary seat in 2018 Alexander became a strong advocate for people on bikes when she was appointed the Deputy Mayor of London for Transport under Sadiq Khan, as well as serving as deputy chair of Transport for London.
During her three years at City Hall, she took up cycling to promote riding a bike for both leisure and commuting purposes, and as part of attempts to make the capital’s roads safer while easing pressure on public transport services during the Covid pandemic.
Soon after becoming deputy mayor, during which time six cyclists had already died on London’s roads, she argued that politicians had a “moral responsibility” to act to prevent road deaths and injuries.
Alexander also criticised the then-Conservative run Westminster City Council for its opposition to the proposed CS11 cycle superhighway that would have linked Swiss Cottage and Oxford Street, branding it a “disgrace” that the local authority took the matter to court in the same week cyclist Sarah Doone lost a leg after being hit by the driver of a cement mixer at Old Street Roundabout.
“It could have been me,” she said at the time. “I can’t undo what happened last week, but I will do everything in my power to ensure that we bring down the rate at which pedestrians and cyclists are killed and seriously injured on London’s streets.”
During the Covid pandemic, she also took to London’s cycle network on her bike to encourage people of all abilities to cycle, detailing her own experiences as a “45-year-old, overweight woman cyclist”.
“As some of us start to think again about how we might in future make the trips we used to do on the bus, tube, and train, please, please, please think about making them on a bike,” she wrote on social media in May 2020.
“I am no Victoria Pendleton but it’s amazing how far you can go, how quickly and actually how much better it makes you feel. And you save money on your bus and train fares.
“I live in Zone 3 of London — between Lewisham and Hither Green. It takes me about 40 minutes to cycle into work in central London through parks and on quiet roads. I feel safe and it means I switch off from emails and my phone.
“At the weekend, I cycle into Lewisham (and further afield!) when I go to the shops and I stick things in my bike basket (amazing how much you can get in there). Sometimes I go out for longer rides — down the Thames Path, out into the leafy bits of Bromley.”
Alongside London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner Will Norman (far left of picture) during a ride through the city
She continued: “I know lots of people think cycling is not for them. That you have to look good in Lycra (believe me, I don’t) or you have to be capable of doing the Tour de France (believe me, I’m not).
“But, please, give it a go. Those of us who are able, need to do it to ensure there is space for those who can’t on public transport. And stick with it, you’ll feel fitter and stronger within a few weeks.
“Life is going to be pretty different for a while. We are going to need to change how we move around the city. I’d love this horrible period to lead to hundreds of thousands of women (and men!) in London taking to their bikes — being healthier and happier as a consequence.”
However, those Covid-era bike rides also saw her come in for criticism from some on social media, after she posted photos of a cycle around London’s streets which feature on the Monopoly board, despite there being no limits on time spent exercising at that point during the pandemic, as well as being within easy reach of her home.
Alexander’s appointment has been praised by those well aware of her cycling stance in London, while Cycling UK also praised her “wealth of experience”.
“Sorry to see Louise Haigh resign as Transport minister, she’s been really good on vision for integrated transport and building blocks of the future,” the London Cycling Campaign said in a social media post on Friday.
“Congrats though also to Heidi Alexander! Great choice to replace her.”
Meanwhile, Sarah McMonagle, the director of external affairs at Cycling UK, said: “We’d like to thank Louise Haigh for her outstanding work in championing active travel during her time as Secretary of State for Transport, and prior to that, as Shadow Secretary.
“Louise clearly understands the role that cycling can play in achieving the government’s missions, particularly its role in improving public health and tackling the cost-of-living crisis.
“We warmly welcome Heidi Alexander to her new role. She brings a wealth of experience as the former deputy mayor for transport in London and is a cyclist herself.
“We urge the new Secretary of State to ensure we maximise the enormous range of benefits that come when more people cycle by putting cycling front and centre of the new Integrated Transport Strategy.
“Heidi has actively engaged with Cycling UK for many years, and we look forward to building on that relationship as she takes forward her new brief.”
After obtaining a PhD, lecturing, and hosting a history podcast at Queen’s University Belfast, Ryan joined road.cc in December 2021 and since then has kept the site’s readers and listeners informed and enthralled (well at least occasionally) on news, the live blog, and the road.cc Podcast. After boarding a wrong bus at the world championships and ruining a good pair of jeans at the cyclocross, he now serves as road.cc’s senior news writer. Before his foray into cycling journalism, he wallowed in the equally pitiless world of academia, where he wrote a book about Victorian politics and droned on about cycling and bikes to classes of bored students (while taking every chance he could get to talk about cycling in print or on the radio). He can be found riding his bike very slowly around the narrow, scenic country lanes of Co. Down.
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32 comments
Really? don't be sucked in. She's clearly not a cyclist, but rather someone whos used a bicycle on occasion. The photos are always staged, hoenstly, look at them. Show me her strava or some real photos of her riding a bike, then we'll talk.
She'll be on the take, like the rest of the criminals in office. Don't expect any positive change. Expect tax.
I'm not on strava and there are no photos of me on my bike. Does that mean that I don't ride a bike?
Well now I'm torn.
If you don't have rides on Strava then they didn't happen, but alexuk seems to be gatekeeping the meaning of "cyclist" which I disagree with.
Yeah - if only she posted silly things on road.cc - now THAT would prove her credentials!
I hope she has good advisors on cycling, because no one should ever ride with such a long coat.
While they're at it, they should have a word with this lot as well.
Don't panic! I'm sure they're on their dedicated "vicar bikes" (pastoorfiets):
On today's busy roads, they haven't got a prayer.
But at least they're halfway there...
I agree she might have chosen a different cycle/clothing combo there. Still, if you're riding with a long coat - or indeed a skirt, or bell-bottoms - a skirt guard and chaincase will keep them clean and avoid any tangles with spokes, chain and sprockets (see also pastoorfiets below, but also):
.
I like that she's a recent-ish convert to cycling. I think that bodes well for the kind of advocacy we need from a transport secretary in the current climate. To make real progress we need to be challenging the fit obsessives/youngsters in lycra image that is nurtured by the anti-cycling lobbyists. Haigh came under criticism for using the hills of Sheffield as an excuse for not cycling, but was apparently persuaded this could be over-come with e-bikes, and rightly pointed out other barriers for normal folk, such as concerns about safety.
Many more experienced cyclists, the ones who kept at it into adult-hood can often under-estimate the barriers for the rest of us so take it up (again).
My one hesitation, and I appreciate this is a luxury hestitation, is that she's London based, and so her experience of cycling/transport in London is very different to that of cycling and transport in the rest of the country both in terms of existing infrastructure, and political management of transport. On the other hand, she's seen how good it can be, and it might make her more ambitious for elsewhere.
Quite! Though so was the last one IIRC - but she actively sought out some active travel advocates and took an outing on some (non-London) NSN routes.
Perhaps, as you say it cuts both ways. As long as she listens to Chris Boardman and Co. it'll be fine.
I do agree it's "where on earth do you start? " - there's so much to unpick and many things depend on each other. Again Chris B is good on this and it chimes in with Labour's messaging eg. it's about building the foundations.
But... it may be that for a generation (or more! ) we need to work mostly on stuff that looks less like "cycle infra" but starts reducing our dependence on driving slightly. (Labour's comments about public transport here are hopeful). And perhaps only a few places get the good cycling stuff - thinking about how Seville seems to have done this eg. prioritising getting a "good enough" actual network over covering the entire city. (Then expanding later. As people started to demand it - "they have it there and it works, why can't we? " - a useful motivator in human affairs)
All MPs work in London and live there several days a week, so they do have a vested interest and/or understanding of the transport issues there. And a lot of what is being done there is done by the Mayor, not a result of central government policy.
The criticism will inevitably be aimed at her when it comes to not having to rely on a failing rail service to get between London and her constituency, and she'll definitely come under fire for it from the motoring lobby should she attempt anything 'anti-car'.
Not that these things especially matter. Anyone in the role will have a lot of people shouting at them, accusing them of all sorts, and trying to please people who don't want to be pleased. I hope she'll prioritise a joined up approach to public transport (including bikes) and promoting choice for those who don't want to, or can't drive. I don't know how much autonomy she'll have, but Starmer won't want to be replacing another Transport Secretary too soon, so that might give her the freedom to say bold things.
Time will tell.
Although she was deputy Mayor of London for Transport, she is now MP for Swindon South.
Thanks. I spotted that this morning when I was doing a social media trawl and saw she had Swindon in her handle and was coming to correct myself.
I wasn't personally over-concerned, at least not for her views on cycling, but assuming she actually lives in Swindon now and regularly commutes from there, it will boost her rail credentials. I've done a quick review of her Wiki page, and it seems she was born and grew up in Swindon, went to uni in Durham, and then went to work in London, including her first stint as an MP. So she has got around a bit - in the best possible way.
Whatever she does or doesn't do, she's going to be subject to a lot of lobbying and tactical criticisms, but having a more rounded experience of living in different parts of the country can only be of benefit.
My reflections on the resignation of Louise Haigh.
I think that - like the continued tax subsidy of fuel prices by not index linking fuel duty - is massively timid by Keir Starmer. The £2.6bn to be spent this year on a fuel duty "Energy Crisis" reduction, and a similar amount on a cash freeze is to undermine a future Tory talking point about Labour vs "the motorist".
Similarly for Louise Haigh. She is the Minister who is most delivering so far. To throw her under the bus for the sake of a timed out frippary from the distant past is both timid and stupid.
The Conservatives did not do it for Grant Shapps' false identities, and deceiving the House of Commons about them. Labour are kneecapping themselves here.
They need to take up the comments of Alex Campbell - no one will remember anything except what you did, and it needs to be visible by 2028. Focus 99.99% on that and ignore the washed-up, wibbling Conservatives. Rishi Sunk sunk them - FFS ignore the end of the pier show.
I'm not too worried about Dangerous Cycling etc offences being introduced to parallel Dangerous Driving etc, though the execrable IDS had heaped a pile of incomprehensible bollocks on top. I lean to the analysis that it may cause Dangerous Drivers to be charged and sentenced more fairly for 'equality required' reasons. Never mind IDS - he's on the shelf yammering his head off, now; an irrelevant sunk cost.
I think Labour were very much about "not dropping the ball" before the election and that's sort of carried over. The Conservatives had run out of road after over a decade, even at a time of surging populism - but the other party could still stuff up. So it was "like the tories but just not sleazy / nasty".
Aside from the road safety target you reminded us of and being a bit more favourable towards public transport (than eg. Thatcher...) (and Welsh Labour's radical fix of the urban default speed limits - thumbs-up) ... I don't think Labour are generally noted for their interest in sorting out transport. And without this their building plans may well end up baking in more car dependency...
It seems to take "others" eg. the Greens in the partnership with the SNP. And was it even Boris' influence which saw the creation of Active Travel England?
Apparently, Haigh did disclose her discharge when she joined Labour's shadow cabinet, so it is odd that Starmer isn't prepared to support her - it looks like P&O are pulling his strings.
I'm not convinced that comparing honesty and integrity of ministers with the low-points of the Tories is useful as I certainly don't want that level of open corruption to happen again under any political leaning. It looked very much like the Tories were just plundering as much of our future as possible before they inevitably got voted out.
It's pretty disappointing that none of the recent politicians have had the brains to put a dynamic threshold on fuel duty - so when fuel is cheap the tax rises to generate more revenue for sustainable transport projects.
In real terms petrol / diesel is around 40% cheaper than 12 years ago.
An approach like that outlined above would see motor fuels generating tens of £billions in extra duty this year - which could have paid for the winter fuel allowance and enough change to build many thousands of miles of new cycle paths.
Wouldn't that just provide an incentive for fuel companies to not lower prices in the UK?
In general though, I'm all for gradually increasing fuel prices to factor in the cost to the environment from the pollution generated by it. When it comes to pollution though, there should definitely be a tax on motor tyres due to the amount of particulates that they put into our air and rivers (i.e. washed from the roads). I don't think bicycle tyres produce much pollution during their use, though their manufacture and destruction are probably more the issue.
The Tories being shameless shouldn't inform Labour's approach.
So... has she said anything bad about DP World and the shameful actions of their subsidiary P&O Ferries that might threaten their £1bn investment in the London Gateway port? I suspect not. We can debate whether she'll be slightly more or less pro-cycling, but let's not kid ourselves that it had anything to do with why her predecessor's past misdemeanour was suddenly "discovered".
The timing does look suspicious, but we don't really want ministers with "hidden" criminal records in power as it compromises them as it can be used for blackmailing them to vote certain ways etc. A person of integrity would be up front and honest about a past crime and could then move on from it.
Since it's an as-minor-as-it-gets (Discharge) spent conviction, it's nothing like a 'hidden' criminal record. It's not a criminal record - that's it.
And according to Haigh's account, which I have not seen convincingly contradicted, it was disclosed as required.
According to my network across parties (see politicalbatting.com) she is the most impressive Minister so far, and had hit the ground running (the law on Rail Gradual Ownership change was given Royal Assent by the King this week - not bad in 3 months of time). And she had lots of sensible ideas; I think we'll be seeing her again.
And she was spot on on P&O, just as Lammy was spot on on Chump being a corrupt, criminal, racist sex abuser. And both have fairly convincingly engaged with being in power.
As a former Tory member until 2022 (repudiation of levelling up was my camel's straw, which I had joined to do my bit to counterbalance the Tunbridge Wells Home Guard element), I'm pleased to have a Government rather than a collection of self-serving rats in a cesspit.
If she had disclosed it, I'm surprised that she has now resigned over it.
Sorry, but who are Lammy and Chump?
David Lammy, our foreign secretary, and the other one is the orange shitgibbon.
https://road.cc/content/news/241462-mp-who-has-called-tougher-laws-dange...
Is this the same Heidi Alexander?
My word, the comments don't get any better the further back in time the articles are.
TBF I think that's before she saw the light and got on her bike.
Not so great if her views have been informed by Mr. Briggs though.
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