Villiers sets sights on making transport changes big and small

The need to cut public spending could make the next transport secretary an unpopular figure in many parts of England. But that prospect hasn’t dampened the enthusiasm of shadow transport secretary Theresa Villiers. She tells Andrew Forster that she’s caught the transport ‘bug’

05 March 2010

We will not let our hands be tied by that report in particular. We can’t let HS2’s report close down the debate. Theresa Villiers

It is true that NATA is not something you read about in The Daily Mail every day but certainly I would focus on this if I was secretary of state. Theresa Villiers

The M6 Toll road in the West Midlands. The Conservatives see privately-funded toll roads as a way of increasing network capacity.

General Election campaigns usually offer politicians the chance to make bold pledges about ‘big ticket’ transport projects. But things may be a bit different this year. With the public finances in such dire straits and with the transport budget not enjoying the same protection as areas such as health and education, one of the main tasks facing the next transport secretary – irrespective of their political colour – will be how to manage down expectations.

If the...