Department

The House Supplement No.9 March 2013
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eDitor Gisela Stuart MP
AssociAte eDitors Graham Brady MP,
Charles Kennedy MP, Austin Mitchell MP,
Priti Patel MP, Jenny Willott MP
liFe presiDent Lord Cormack
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The Department for
Transport only tends to
get noticed when things
go wrong. Few politicians sit
by the phone during re-shuffles
hoping that transport is their new portfolio.
The only recent exception was probably
Lord Adonis, whose sheer love of trains was
infectious. But others have their eyes glaze over
at the mere mention of bus routes. That’s a pity.
In the long term interest of UK plc nothing can
be more important for the long term success
of our cities and regions and the economy than
a well-functioning transport infrastructure.
It’s in all our interest to better understand the
department. This guide will help to identify
some of the key players and explain their
priorities and work. gisela stuart MP EDITOR
Contents
4 HiSTory Peter Headicar traces the history of
transport policy in the UK
10 commenT Christian Wolmar and Stephen Joseph
review the Government’s progress on transport
14 How iT workS Who are the key figures at the
Department for Transport? Sam Macrory gets
behind the scenes
24 miniSTerial profileS
34 organogram
36 inSider’S STory ii Claire MacAleese recalls her
time working for Andrew Adonis
40 inTerview DfT Permanent Secretary Philip Rutnam
talks to Matt Ross about his role
48 inSider’S STory i Anthony Vigor, a former special
adviser to Douglas Alexander, on his time at the DfT
52 influence Gareth Elliott explains how to make
the Dft work for you
56 conSulTaTionS
61 conTacTS
March 2013 | THE HOUSE MAGAZINE | 3