New Transport Secretary – and cyclist – Heidi Alexander backed to put “cycling front and centre” after shock resignation of Louise Haigh over decade-old phone fraud offence

The new Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander, has been backed by cycling campaigners to put riding bikes “front and centre” of the Labour government’s new integrated transport strategy, in the wake of the shock resignation of Louise Haigh on Friday morning, following reports that she pleaded guilty to a fraud offence over a decade ago.

The MP for Swindon South, Alexander was elected to her second stint in parliament in July, after spending three years as the Deputy Mayor of London for Transport between 2018 and 2021, during which time she championed cycling – while riding a bike herself – during the Covid pandemic, tackled Conservative opposition to cycling infrastructure schemes, and argued that politicians had a “moral responsibility” to prevent road deaths and injuries.

The 49-year-old has been hailed by cycling activists as a “great” replacement for the departing Haigh, who was praised by Cycling UK on Friday for her “outstanding work in championing active travel” during her ultimately brief spell as Transport Secretary.

Last night, the Times and Sky reported that Haigh, the MP for Sheffield Heeley, had been given a conditional discharge by magistrates in 2013 after admitting telling police she had lost her mobile phone in a mugging, only for it to be later found.

The reports prompted Haigh to resign from her ministerial role, marking the first resignation from Sir Keir Starmer’s government and only a day after she launched Labour’s new ten-year Integrated National Transport Strategy.

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In her resignation letter, Haigh said the conviction came after she was mugged as a 24-year-old in 2013, two years before she became a MP.

“In the immediate aftermath, I reported the incident to the police. I gave the police a list of my possessions that I believed had been stolen, including my work phone,” she said.

“Some time later, I discovered that the handset in question was still in my house. I should have immediately informed my employer and not doing so straight away was a mistake.”

When questioned by police, who were alerted to her use of the missing phone, she said that she was advised by her solicitor not to comment during that interview, advice she regrets following. Haigh later pleaded guilty to making a false report to police at a magistrates’ court, six months before becoming an MP at the 2015 election, and received a discharge, the “lowest possible outcome”.

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Since taking on her role as Transport Secretary in July, Haigh has been viewed as a vocal and consistent advocate for cycling in the UK.

However, before taking on her ministerial duties, the MP for Sheffield Heeley was also on the receiving end last November of some criticism for comments she made about cycling, after she responded to a question about whether she was a cyclist herself with the reply, “God no, have you been to Sheffield?” – a quip she later insisted was a “light-hearted joke”.

Since then, Haigh has made a point of being photographed cycling on several occasions, including on an e-bike ride though Sheffield’s hills with three-time Olympic gold medallist and South Yorkshire’s active travel commissioner Ed Clancy and, most recently, on the Trans-Pennine Trail (N62) with author and journalist Laker and Active Travel England chief Chris Boardman.

And in August, she pledged, despite very little emphasis on active travel during the election campaign, that the government will invest “unprecedented levels of funding” in cycling and walking, as well as developing a new road safety strategy.

Speaking to Laura Laker for a piece in the Guardian, Haigh explained how active travel would form an important part of the government’s approach to improving health and the environment, adding that “walking and cycling and moving more are essential to solving both of these in the immediate term and in the long term”.

“There's lots of evidence to show that will reduce the number of GP appointments by hundreds of thousands, if not millions,” Haigh said. “We absolutely want to make sure that we invest at unprecedented levels.”

> Transport Secretary wants end to "perverse half cycle lanes" and hints at long-term funding for cycling and walking

Earlier this month, she also called for an end to the “perverse outcomes” that deliver “half a cycle lane and then you’re chucked out onto a dual carriageway”, while promising that long-term funding for cycle routes could be in the pipeline from next year.

And on Thursday, Haigh launched a new integrated transport strategy for England, which she said aims to provide a “people first approach” by supporting local areas to improve all forms of transport and provide “seamless” journeys from door to door, building on the example set by Greater Manchester’s multi-faceted Bee Network, which brings together bus, metro, and active travel under one name.

“I am no Victoria Pendleton but it’s amazing how far you can go and how much better you feel”

But with Haigh now gone from her post, what does Heidi Alexander’s unexpected appointment as transport secretary mean for cycling and active travel in the UK?

Well, for starters, the Swindon MP is a much more established convert to cycling than her predecessor.

Despite calling for tougher laws on dangerous cycling during her first spell as a MP in 2016, after resigning from her parliamentary seat in 2018 Alexander became a strong advocate for people on bikes when she was appointed the Deputy Mayor of London for Transport under Sadiq Khan, as well as serving as deputy chair of Transport for London.

During her three years at City Hall, she took up cycling to promote riding a bike for both leisure and commuting purposes, and as part of attempts to make the capital’s roads safer while easing pressure on public transport services during the Covid pandemic.

Soon after becoming deputy mayor, during which time six cyclists had already died on London’s roads, she argued that politicians had a “moral responsibility” to act to prevent road deaths and injuries.

Alexander also criticised the then-Conservative run Westminster City Council for its opposition to the proposed CS11 cycle superhighway that would have linked Swiss Cottage and Oxford Street, branding it a “disgrace” that the local authority took the matter to court in the same week cyclist Sarah Doone lost a leg after being hit by the driver of a cement mixer at Old Street Roundabout.

“It could have been me,” she said at the time. “I can’t undo what happened last week, but I will do everything in my power to ensure that we bring down the rate at which pedestrians and cyclists are killed and seriously injured on London’s streets.”

During the Covid pandemic, she also took to London’s cycle network on her bike to encourage people of all abilities to cycle, detailing her own experiences as a “45-year-old, overweight woman cyclist”.

“As some of us start to think again about how we might in future make the trips we used to do on the bus, tube, and train, please, please, please think about making them on a bike,” she wrote on social media in May 2020.

“I am no Victoria Pendleton but it’s amazing how far you can go, how quickly and actually how much better it makes you feel. And you save money on your bus and train fares.

“I live in Zone 3 of London — between Lewisham and Hither Green. It takes me about 40 minutes to cycle into work in central London through parks and on quiet roads. I feel safe and it means I switch off from emails and my phone.

“At the weekend, I cycle into Lewisham (and further afield!) when I go to the shops and I stick things in my bike basket (amazing how much you can get in there). Sometimes I go out for longer rides — down the Thames Path, out into the leafy bits of Bromley.”

Alongside London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner Will Norman (far left of picture) during a ride through the city

She continued: “I know lots of people think cycling is not for them. That you have to look good in Lycra (believe me, I don’t) or you have to be capable of doing the Tour de France (believe me, I’m not).

“But, please, give it a go. Those of us who are able, need to do it to ensure there is space for those who can’t on public transport. And stick with it, you’ll feel fitter and stronger within a few weeks.

“Life is going to be pretty different for a while. We are going to need to change how we move around the city. I’d love this horrible period to lead to hundreds of thousands of women (and men!) in London taking to their bikes — being healthier and happier as a consequence.”

However, those Covid-era bike rides also saw her come in for criticism from some on social media, after she posted photos of a cycle around London’s streets which feature on the Monopoly board, despite there being no limits on time spent exercising at that point during the pandemic, as well as being within easy reach of her home.

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Alexander’s appointment has been praised by those well aware of her cycling stance in London, while Cycling UK also praised her “wealth of experience”.

“Sorry to see Louise Haigh resign as Transport minister, she’s been really good on vision for integrated transport and building blocks of the future,” the London Cycling Campaign said in a social media post on Friday.

“Congrats though also to Heidi Alexander! Great choice to replace her.”

Meanwhile, Sarah McMonagle, the director of external affairs at Cycling UK, said: “We’d like to thank Louise Haigh for her outstanding work in championing active travel during her time as Secretary of State for Transport, and prior to that, as Shadow Secretary.

“Louise clearly understands the role that cycling can play in achieving the government’s missions, particularly its role in improving public health and tackling the cost-of-living crisis.

“We warmly welcome Heidi Alexander to her new role. She brings a wealth of experience as the former deputy mayor for transport in London and is a cyclist herself.

“We urge the new Secretary of State to ensure we maximise the enormous range of benefits that come when more people cycle by putting cycling front and centre of the new Integrated Transport Strategy.

“Heidi has actively engaged with Cycling UK for many years, and we look forward to building on that relationship as she takes forward her new brief.”