YP Comment: Rail users are betrayed again - Broken promise on £500m plan

Four years after it was announced with great fanfare that such an investment would be made in electrifying the main line between Sheffield and the capital, the decision to shelve a project that was intended to result in faster, more environmentally-friendly trains was slipped out the day before Parliament’s summer recess begins.

In 2013, the county was told electric trains would be running between Sheffield and London by 2020. Two years later the project was “paused” but then-Transport Secretary Sir Patrick McLoughlin continued to insist the Government wanted the work to be “done and done well”.

Now his successor Chris Grayling has cancelled the scheme, justifying the decision by claiming more modern ‘bi-mode’ trains, which can operate on diesel or electric, will be introduced on the route from 2022 and thereby eliminate the need for electrification work to take place.

The Department of Transport heralded the news it was cancelling the project by claiming it simply meant “disruptive works” on the line won’t be needed. It is yet another slap in the face for already put upon rail passengers.

Given the Government’s record on the issue so far, and taken alongside the failure to provide South Yorkshire with a dedicated HS2 station despite running the line through many of the county’s homes and businesses, it is fair to greet Mr Grayling’s claims with some cynicism.

Even if the minister is to be taken at his word that the new plan will be an improvement, commuters will have to wait five more years for them to start operating. The people of Yorkshire deserve better.

Cable is new leader - Lib Dems at a crossroads

It was assumed that Sir Vince Cable would be unveiled as the new Liberal Democrats leader at the party’s conference in September. However, given the conspicuous lack of challengers, and with potential rivals such as Jo Swinson, Norman Lamb and Sir Ed Davey having already ruled out standing, the party has pressed ahead with Sir Vince’s ‘coronation’.

The 74-year-old takes over the leadership role vacated by Tim Farron who stepped down last month following a disappointing general election in which the party increased its number of MPs from nine to 12 but saw its share of the vote drop to less than eight per cent.

Sir Vince certainly has the gravitas his predecessor was lacking and, with a wealth of experience both inside and outside Parliament, he can not be accused of being a career politician – a label that former leader Nick Clegg, for all his merits, struggled to shake.

However, the former business secretary takes over a party that is at a crossroads. During the election the Lib Dems pledged to give the public the final say on the terms of the UK’s exit from the EU in a further referendum, which failed to resonate with voters.

Sir Vince claims he never expected to return to Parliament and was preparing a lecture series and finishing a novel when the snap election gave him the chance to win back his Twickenham seat.

With the country about to enter a crucial phase of Brexit talks, the outcome of which will shape this country’s future for years to come, he must not only galvanise his party but convince the electorate that his party still has a purpose – it may prove to be his most difficult challenge yet.

Rutter bows out - A pioneering company man

The news that Barrie Rutter is stepping down as artistic director of Northern Broadsides will cause dismay among many theatre fans.

It is 25 years since Rutter created his theatre company at Hull Marina – in a boatshed where he staged a now famous production of Richard III.

From the outset, Rutter wanted to stay true to his Yorkshire roots and quickly gained a reputation for staging Shakespeare in a northern voice, with Northern Broadsides going on to establish itself as one of the country’s leading touring theatre companies, with more than 70 productions to its name.

As an actor-manager, Rutter harks back to the 19th Century when such roles were commonplace in the theatre, but he and his cohorts have turned Northern Broadsides into a modern-day success story.

Through his passion, drive and indomitable spirit he helped give Yorkshire a genuine voice on the stage, and long may he continue to do so.