NEWS: Oxford Times December 19, 2019
Campaigners lobby Shapps on expressway
“Future of the controversial Oxford to Cambridge route on agenda following bold election claims.
“Expressway election cancellation claim ‘not right’.”
The Oxford Times reports NEG has contacted Grant Shapps for the third time, to request a meeting to discuss the review and their involvement in it. The request for a meeting comes after NEG has had no contact from Grant Shapps regarding two previous letter and the issue raised with his Chief of Staff by his constituency office, other than from someone in his office asking NEG to make contact again after the election. NEG have written to try to find out more about any review, pledged during the election campaign, the timescales, who would be involved, the approach and how NEG could be involved.
This article is based on our press release which you can see here.
The Oxford Times also reports on Oxford Green Party questioning if there is intention to cancel when there is a Westminster Policy Forum scheduled for February 27th to assess next steps for the Ox-Cam Arc.
The Oxford Times also runs an editorial on the subject “Government must provide answers on the expressway”. Which states “Whatever Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said about the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway during the election campaign, it should probably be forgotten. Political parties of all colours can over-promise in a bid to win votes and, while Mr Shapps suggested there would be a review, he didn’t go as far [as] saying the project would be cancelled.
“Politicians are experts at telling people what they want to hear in the run-up to an election but it is clear that, although Mr Shapps has pledged a review, he has not gone as far as saying the project should be scrapped.”
The editorial finishes up “If the project is now subject to review, then all interested parties should be kept informed.”
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