Matt Rodda

It is a pleasure to speak in the debate. I want to address some of the issues raised by new clause 22 and other new clauses in relation to disabled people. If I could just make it clear for the sake of the record, I did not mean to sign new clause 22 and, in fact, I have asked the office to remove my name from that clause, although it will not appear in the paperwork until tomorrow. I want to offer my wholehearted support for the Bill and to thank the Minister and, indeed, his predecessor as shadow Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (Andy McDonald), who I had the pleasure of working with in opposition. This important Bill will bring track and train together and deliver enormous benefits for local residents, not least in constituencies such as Reading Central, where we have a significant number of commuters, but also a lot of economic growth generated by rail investment. It is a shame that I was not able to discuss that further with the hon. Member for Broxbourne (Lewis Cocking) after his slight misunderstanding of my point on this matter. It is important to consider the benefits of rail in terms of economic growth to the country. While the Elizabeth line cost about £18 billion, in the first three years it operated—it has now operated for several years—£42 billion of economic growth was generated by that wise investment. It was backed by both main parties and, I would hope, other smaller parties as well. I hope that we can all come together to support that. I should declare a bit of an interest in that not only do I represent a town that has seen huge growth thanks to rail investment, but I was involved in the Paddington rail crash and was lucky to survive it. I am a regular commuter, and I also thank the RMT and ASLEF for supporting my general election campaigns in the past.