Appointed to the role of Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport in October 2013, Robert Goodwill has certainly had to hit the ground running. He has a flurry of controversial issues to tackle from the get-go: the cyclist versus lorry safety debate, the A14 tolling debacle, reform of the Highways Agency and the impending HGV Road Levy, to name but a few.
Luckily for the former Tory party whip, Goodwill is experienced in transport matters. He spent 18 months on the Commons Transport Select Committee in 2005 before holding the shadow roads minister portfolio from 2007-10, and is a former member of the All Party Motor Group.
So UK hauliers can at least rest assured that the man at the top is there on merit, and with an expansive remit covering both strategic and local roads, road safety, freight and logistics, aviation, HS2 phase one, cycling - and with a whopping £28bn roads infrastructure budget at his fingertips Goodwill certainly is in a position to effect change. Whether this is for the better or worse, and how long he lasts in post, remains to be seen…
