The House of Commons returned from the Easter recess on Monday and kicked off with the Second Reading of the HS2 Bill. This has all party support but 50 rebels, mostly Conservatives, voted against it. Both front benches made strong cases for the project. Twice as many people travel by train now than 20 years ago and demand is still growing. Existing mainline services are expected to be full by 2020. HS2 will increase capacity and free up space on the network for more freight, easing pressure on the roads. Opponents are concerned about the environmental damage HS2 will do to the Chilterns and want the line to be re-routed or taken underground. Supporters dismiss this as Nimbyism but with three Ministers representing Chiltern constituencies, the tunnel is a possibility.
HS2 is only part of a major upgrade of Britain's transport system. £38bn is to be spent on the existing network and £21bn on Crossrail and Thameslink. The roads budget will be trebled and £14bn spent on local schemes. The aims are to stimulate economic growth in the north and to compete more effectively with Germany and France whose rail systems are well ahead of ours.
This week's Prime Ministers Questions focused again on the sale of Royal Mail. The share price is now 50% higher than when first sold. Twelve of the sixteen initial purchasers had sold them for a profit despite a gentleman's agreement not to do so. Royal Mail employees were forbidden to sell their shares for three years. Ed Miliband described the way the sale had been handled as a 'rip off'.
David Cameron countered, claiming the sale had been a success. Royal Mail had been losing £1bn and was now making a profit and paying taxes. This was good value for the nation. He explained that the 140,000 Royal Mail employees had been given their shares whilst investors had bought theirs. He accused Miliband of playing to the gallery and painting his party back into the red corner. Like Michael Foot and Neil Kinnock before him he did not understand the business world and opposed privatisation.
Patrick Mercer, a former army officer decorated for bravery announced his resignation as MP for Newark this week. Eleven months ago he was secretly filmed accepting £4000 for lobbying on behalf of Fiji that wants to be readmitted to the Commonwealth. Lobbying for money is against parliamentary rules and the Commons Standards Committee planned to suspend him for six months. Mercer admitted that he had done wrong and resigned before the suspension was announced. He has not been happy for some time and had said David Cameron's biggest mistake was being born. A by-election will be held and rumours spread that Nigel Farage, the UKIP leader, might be a candidate but he has no links with the constituency and decided not to do so.
Elections for the European Parliament are on 22nd May. Whatever our views on the EU the outcome will affect us and merit a place in our prayers.