Tory grandee Patrick McLoughlin to become new Transport for the North chairman

Lord McLoughlin is a former transport secretary and Conservative party chairman who was made a peer after stepping down as MP for the Derbyshire Dales in 2019. He is also currently chair of lobbying body Airlines UK.

A report going to a board meeting of Transport for the North next week confirms he has been selected as the preferred candidate to be the organisation's new chairman. The statutory body advises ministers on the North's rail, roads and bus requirements.

The Times reported in December that Lord McLoughlin was in the running for the £60,000-per-year job.

The paper said he had been shortlisted for the role against 'relative unknown' Lucy Armstrong who chairs of the Port of Tyne Authority.

The move follows TfN's damning criticism of the Government's Integrated Rail Plan in November as "woefully inadequate" being followed by the organisation being stripped of key powers over the development of the Northern Powerhouse Rail project.

The Department for Transport (DfT) announced TfN would stop developing plans for the high-speed rail project and be moved into an 'advisory' role, with its Government funding will be cut from April 2022.

An unnamed source told The Times in December that the appointment was perceived as an attempt to "mute the Labour metro mayors on the board", who have been highly critical of the Government's investment in Northern transport infrastructure.

The board paper asking members to approve Lord McLoughlin's appointment next week states that after an appointment panel including Hull Council leader Daren Hale and TfN's interim chair Louise Gittins had completed a first stage selection process, an informal session was held with other elected board members including Yorkshire mayors Dan Jarvis and Tracy Brabin, as well as Conservative North Yorkshire County Council leader Carl Les.

The informal session was not attended by Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham or Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram.

The appointment panel also include Conservative politician Heather Scott, leader of Darlington Council, and independent Craig Browne, who is deputy leader of Cheshire East Council. Peter Kennan, who is the private sector co-chair of the Transport and Environment Board of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, was also on the panel. TfN chief executive Martin Tugwell and a DfT official called Ben Smith watched the panel as observers.

If his appointment is approved next Tuesday, Lord McLoughlin will officially become chairman the following day and will hold the role for an initial four years.

The paper going to the board said: "Having now completed all stages of the process, the Appointment Panel has identified Lord McLoughlin as its preferred candidate.

"The Panel is therefore recommending that the TfN Board approves a formal offer to this candidate.

"Lord McLoughlin is a Life Peer of the House of Lords and a former Secretary of State for Transport. His tenure included government investment in rail including electrification of the Great Western Main Line and the Northern Powerhouse Rail. He is the Chair of Airlines UK and a Board advisor to XRail."

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