Goodwill takes on roads role at DfT, as focus on rail grows

Roads minister Stephen Hammond has been replaced by Robert Goodwill at the DfT, as part of a series of changes that appear to increase ministers’ focus on rail services.

Goodwill, previously a Conservative party whip is MP for Scarborough and Whitby, and was a farmer before starting his political career in Europe and then joining the UK parliament in 2005.

He takes on Hammond’s role – officially as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport – with responsibilities including freight, road safety and the HGV Road User Levy.

However, the new roads minister also has the additional areas of local roads, aviation, HS2 phase one and cycling to contend with.

Hammond remains at the DfT but has taken on a host of rail related responsibilities, excluding HS2 but including London’s Crossrail project.

Baroness Kramer, a life peer in the House of Lords, joins the DfT as Minister of State for Transport, and takes on responsibility for areas including phase two of HS2, rail, localism and devolution, local connectivity and future transport.

Patrick McLoughlin retaining his role leading the DfT as Secretary of State for Transport, with high speed rail one of his four key areas (transport security, transport strategy and spending review being the others).

Departures and arrivals

Liberal Democrat Norman Baker MP has left the DfT to become Minister of State for Crime Prevention at the Home Office, while Conservative MP Simon Burns resigned ahead of the reshuffle to stand for the role of deputy speaker of the House of Commons.

Labour meanwhile has replaced shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle with Mary Creagh, MP for Wakefield.