Page 77 - Phonebox Magazine September 2012

A Conservative Opinion: chatting with our local MP, Mark Lancaster By Tom Revitt (continued)
transport in times of rising fuel costs, insurance etc.
In terms of other means of transport such as the railways, Mark believes that the new HS2 scheme is controversial, and very expensive. However, he said how it would bring benefits: where it doesnʼt directly impact us in Milton Keynes, it will release a lot of capacity on the West Coast Main Line (WCML). To explain this further, he stated that commuter trains are ʻalways going to be the poor relationʼ to
this, trains must be comfortable, you must be able to get a seat and it must be a fast and efficient service.
MK Development
The first aspect Mark brought up was how that adults should not ʻpatroniseʼ young people. “We must occupy them and give
On the coalition government: “it’s like a marriage, in which one is always seeking a compromise.... What I do know is that it is much better than having a Labour government”
them the opportunities to do what they want to.” Again, it is finding the right balance between giving young people the chance to entertain themselves, yet educate themselves at the same time, lessening the chances of ʻwandering off and causing a nuisance.ʼ
On the youth of today: “We must occupy them and give the opportunities to do what they want to do”
Talking about improvement of our local area, Markʼs response was that ʻwe must do everything we can to drive the economy forward.ʼ He mentioned his ʻI before Eʼ scheme, (Infrastructure before expansion) which he quoted, “rather than building houses for houses sake, the growth of Milton Keynes should be driven by the economy.” He believes that if Milton Keynes has a “good, solid economic base and is the first choice for jobs and businesses, housing, transport and other developments will fall from it.” Mark mentioned how he is a strong supporter of the localism act, which aims towards the central government devolving their powers through local councils, rather than dictating the growth of cities, much like Milton Keynes in the past. A key point Mark stated: Unless you have local support, you are destined to fail.
the fast intercity trains, and that by moving these express services onto the new HS2 tracks, commuter trains will be able to run more effectively and efficiently. He did however state how he worries about the enormous cost of the scheme: whether to be more concerned about installing high speed broadband, for example, within the city rather than physical transport solutions to make businesses more successful: Itʼs a tough balance to find.
The current government
Plans for young people were also discussed.
The interview ended with government talk, as a whole. I asked Mark what his views on the coalition was, in terms as working as an efficient government. He described this concept as “like a marriage, in which one is always seeking a compromise.” Mark reassured me how that broadly, he believed the coalition was working and that we “shouldnʼt get too upset by what we see in the newspapers, because in the main, weʼre ʻgetting on with it.ʼ”
Discussing the cost for everyday travel on the railways, Mark told me how our country cannot afford for our railways to be ʻa rich manʼs toy.ʼ His solution was broad but simple: if we can get enough people to use the railways then prices will go down, and to do
On MK development: “ if it has a good, solid economic base and is the first choice for jobs and businesses, housing, transport and other develop- ments will fall from it.”
“What I do know is that this is much better than having another labour government.”
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Phonebox Magazine 77