Before coming to Parliament, I spent 15 years in East Anglia helping to build, finance and manage fast-growth science and technology businesses around Cambridge and Norwich.

Fast modern rail is crucial to modern economies around the world. People are sitting in cars and trains going nowhere in an area that has a lot more to offer – and where we should be generating more of our own economic growth and prosperity.

As I know well because I was working there at the time, perhaps the most powerful thing that happened to unlock Cambridge’s own growth—described eloquently as the “Cambridge phenomenon”—was the improvement of fast rail links to London, and principally the two hourly non-stop service. It became known as the “VC Express” or the “Cambridge Flyer”, and it dramatically shortened not only travel times, but cultural perceptions of the distance between Cambridge and London. Investors in London started jumping on the train and popping up to Cambridge for a morning to meet and view interesting companies. That is not happening at the moment in Ipswich, Norwich and other areas, but it could – and absolutely should.

That is why, along with the 15 Conservative MPs for Norfolk and Suffolk, I have written to Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Transport, to renew the case for improved East-West rail links. We passionately believe that, by better connection, our Golden Triangle of Growth in the East can be at the forefront of the Green Revolution – unlocking jobs, skills and prosperity, and helping us on the way to Net Zero, which will make all of our lives better.

To see our letter to the Secretary of State, see below.

To see my article to the EDP please click here