RIA's Mid-Year Political Review 2025

RIA’s Public Affairs & PR team reflects on our political engagement over the first half of the year

Parliament broke for summer recess last week with MPs heading to their constituencies for the next month or off on holiday. For some of the 2024 intake this will be the first opportunity to take a proper  break. For them, the August holiday will be considered as a chance to slow down and reflect.

Over August the Railway Industry Association (RIA) will continue our work on behalf of members but we will take the time to consider progress so far this year and to plan our work programme for the autumn onwards, following a particularly busy first half of the year or so in terms of our political engagement. The Government’s Spending Review and associated regions and cities transport projects announcement, the Infrastructure Strategy (and Pipeline), and the Industrial Strategy which contained useful points in the small-print if not at a thematic level, have all reflected long-term rail policy ambitions to a greater or lesser degree and we have welcomed or questioned these as appropriate.

RIA’s engagement with Labour began in opposition where we contributed to the development of thinking on rail both through the Juergen Maier review of transport infrastructure and the party’s policy document Getting Britain Moving. These ideas are being realised in Government with announcements on rail reform, long term strategy, and pipeline visibility, even if they are not yet fully implemented yet. (See RIA review of One Year of Government below).

The Rail Minister Lord Hendy referenced RIA and our work more than half a dozen times during an appearance at the Transport Select Committee (TSC) a few weeks ago as part of its inquiry into ‘boom and bust’ in rail investment. Crewe MP Connor Naismith also cited RIA’s rail growth forecasts in a debate on the future of the West Coast mainline earlier which shows that the association’s work on the value of rail is making an impact. 

Our Policy Director Robert Cook and Chair Noel Travers gave evidence to the Transport Select Committee as part of their inquiry into ‘boom and bust’ in rail investment and we published a review of the Government’s first year on rail at the start of July. This can be found here.

Our Future of Rail series this year has gathered significant traction and participation from a range of experienced industry and political leaders. Most recently, Mayor of the East Midlands Claire Ward delivered a keynote at the event’s latest instalment which focused on transport devolution. The series will continue into the autumn as we shape the national debate on the future of the rail industry.

Elsewhere the Prime Minister commenting on our stations discussion paper during his appearance at the Liaison Committee. We have engaged strongly with MPs from all parties including members of the Transport Select Committee many of whom have attended RIA events including the Public Affairs and Communications Network (PACN) meetings and a RIA-hosted a round table for the TSC to meet with SMEs and discuss their challenges.

The autumn will bring renewed challenges for the Prime Minister and the Chancellor with little ambiguity around whether or not Treasury will be compelled to make significant spending cuts or raise taxes. Last Tuesday the ONS announced the Government borrowed over £20bn in June – around £7bn more than the same period last year, and the highest June borrowing on record (excluding during the pandemic). We may see ideas such as raising capital gains tax and charging National Insurance Contributions on investment income mooted in the weeks and months ahead.

The House of Lords has been flexing its muscles this year and we can expect to see it do so again with the Government’s compromise on the Planning & Infrastructure Bill over environmental protections on housebuilding, a pre-emptive move against action from Peers in a sign of things to come. It is anticipated that the Railways Bill will be lodged in the autumn and may begin its parliamentary journey in the Upper House and be introduced by the Rail Minister who takes his place there. Many Lords are highly knowledgeable and experienced in rail policy and we are likely to see significant scrutiny of the Bill there in areas such as access, finance and regulation. Have a good summer break!