Plans for new direct train services to London
Plans to restore direct rail services between northern Lincolnshire and London have been put forward to Network Rail, a train operator has said.
Grand Central said it was seeking permission to run services from Cleethorpes, Grimsby, Habrough and Scunthorpe.
The proposed new stops would connect to existing Grand Central services at Doncaster, the firm said.
If the application was approved by the rail regulator, the new timetable would run from as early as December 2026, it added.
Grand Central said the extended route would have four new return services per day and over 775,000 additional seats annually made available between Cleethorpes, Grimsby and London's Kings Cross.
Paul Hutchings, managing director responsible for Grand Central, said: "If approved, these services will play a pivotal role in driving regional growth by linking underserved communities to key commercial opportunities, benefiting both local businesses and passengers."
Melanie Onn, Labour MP for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, said there had been a campaign to try and reestablish the direct service for many years.
"This isn't just about attracting future investment into our town, it's about addressing missed economic and social opportunities due to current poor connectivity," she said.
Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Government urged to prioritise direct rail link
Cleethorpes-London service faces further delay

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ministers to offer olive branch on welfare plans to avert Labour rebellion
Ministers are to offer mutinous Labour MPs an olive branch on the government's welfare plans to help avert a major rebellion in a crucial vote early next month. Liz Kendall, the welfare secretary, wants to reassure angry MPs who have threatened to rebel over fears that sick and disabled people will be hardest hit. The Guardian has been told she will put 'non-negotiable' protections for the most vulnerable benefits recipients on the face of the welfare reform bill when it is published next week, providing additional support to those with the most severe conditions who will never work. But with Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, ruling out a U-turn on disability benefit cuts and government aides insisting there will be no substantial change to the bill, it is unclear whether the tweaks will be enough to prevent a rebellion that could even risk a defeat. Labour MPs are demanding big changes to the proposals first put forward in March in the welfare green paper, including a rethink on eligibility for personal independence payments (Pip) for disabled people and benefits for carers. Kendall's plans to save £5bn a year by overhauling the welfare system, including by cutting Pip, triggered alarm among Labour MPs, with experts warning that up to 1.2 million people with disabilities are expected to lose thousands of pounds a year. With an extra 250,000 people falling into relative poverty by 2029-30, according to the government's own impact assessment, ministers are braced for their biggest rebellion yet, with as many as 170 MPs saying they could vote against the plans. After a consultation on the biggest shake-up of Britain's welfare system since universal credit was introduced more than a decade ago, and discussions with multiple MPs, Kendall is now offering a series of modifications to help alleviate concerns. Hundreds of thousands of people who will no longer qualify for Pip, which is intended to help with their quality of life and is not connected to employment, will continue to receive payments for 13 weeks, a more generous transition than the four-week period more usually adopted by government. During this time they will receive support for health, care and employment needs. Carer's allowance will be protected throughout this period but will end when Pip is withdrawn. The sickest benefit recipients with less than 12 months to live and those with lifelong, often progressive and incurable conditions will automatically get a higher rate of universal credit and will not have to go through reassessments, which take place on average every three years. The new 'right to work' scheme for those on health and disability benefits, previously announced by Kendall, will be introduced at the same time as the bill so welfare recipients can try to return to work without risking losing their entitlements. Kendall told the Guardian: 'When we set out our reforms we promised to protect those most in need, particularly those who can never work. I know from my 15 years as a constituency MP how important this is. It is something I take seriously and will never compromise on. 'That is why we are putting additional protections on the face of the bill to support the most vulnerable and help people affected by the changes. These protections will be written into law – a clear sign they are non-negotiable.' While Reeves insisted she would not be rethinking her decision on disability benefit cuts on Thursday, despite speculation that the government could soften its stance, she said she was 'taking into account' representations from Labour MPs. Pressed by the BBC on whether she would change her mind, Reeves said: 'No, we're not going to be changing that. It is important that we reform the way the welfare state works so that there is a welfare state there for people. 'We are the only developed country where the number of people in the labour market is lower than it was before Covid, the number of economically inactive people of working age is rising.' But she added: 'We've already announced that we are reviewing the criteria for accessing Pip. Even with these changes, we will substantially be increasing the amount of money we are paying in sickness and disability benefits during the course of this parliament.' Under the changes already announced, claimants would not qualify for Pip unless they score a minimum of four points on a single daily living activity. Government sources have ruled out any further changes to the assessment criteria. Assessments score from 0 to 12 the difficulty that claimants face in a range of living activities such as preparing and eating food, communicating, washing and getting dressed. Just over 370,000 people who claim Pip will lose the payments, while another 430,000 who would have become eligible in the future will not now get it. On average these people will lose £4,500 a year. The government has argued the welfare system needs dramatic reform as 1,000 people a day are newly claiming benefits. Even with the cuts, it will still be spending more on Pip, with an extra 750,000 people receiving payments by the end of this parliament. As part of the measures, the Department for Work and Pensions will spend up to £1bn a year extra on helping people back into jobs. About 170 MPs, including some loyalists, are understood to be preparing to rebel by either voting against the government on changes to eligibility for Pip payments or abstaining. One Labour MP suggested that making small changes to the plans would not be enough to win over sceptics. 'Small tweaks here and there won't be enough. As long as the welfare reforms punish the most vulnerable, they'll face opposition,' they said. A government source suggested the numbers were starting to fall after Kemi Badenoch said the Tories would oppose the plans. 'The idea of voting against the government becomes more difficult for people if it means walking through the lobbies with the Tories,' they said. Labour whips have suggested that the expansion of free school meals last week and indications from senior ministers that they were open to lifting the two-child benefit cap was also helping to reassure concerned MPs.
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
Government officials brace for up to 50 Labour MPs rebelling against welfare bill
Government officials have admitted they made a mistake by making the financial case for cutting benefits as they steel themselves for as many as 50 Labour MPs rebelling against the welfare bill that is being published on Wednesday. Sources told the Guardian that they now believed the party should have focused on the moral case for reforming the welfare system, arguing that it was letting down millions of people who could be supported into work. Labour insiders believe they could have kept more MPs on side if they had not highlighted the £5bn savings the Treasury would make as a result of the cuts to health and disability benefits that have so angered the party. At the time of the spring statement, ministers said there were two justifications for the move: one was to get people off benefits in the long term, but the justification for the immediate cut to incapacity benefit was to make sure the system remained financially sustainable. Rachel Reeves told MPs: 'These plans mean that welfare spending as a share of GDP will fall between 2026-27 and the end of the forecast period. We are reforming our welfare system, making it more sustainable, protecting the most vulnerable and supporting more people back into secure work lifting them out of poverty.' Labour MPs are demanding big changes to the proposals first put forward in March in the welfare green paper, including a rethink on eligibility for personal independence payments (Pip) for disabled people and benefits for carers. Kendall's plans to save £5bn a year by overhauling the welfare system, including by cutting Pip, triggered alarm in the party, with experts saying that up to 1.2 million people with disabilities are expected to lose thousands of pounds a year. Nevertheless, the government is not expected to make any further changes to the welfare bill after it is published. 'The £5bn is already spent,' said one senior government source. 'Any further tweaks to the bill including on start dates or on criteria or tapering would mean that we start to spend money we don't have. And this goes far beyond welfare. 'We have to be able to make tough decisions. We have to be able to make a budget add up in the autumn. We have to be able to make tough reforms that are the right thing to do. If we cannot get this through the consequences are far bigger than just this reform.' Senior No 10 figures said the numbers who eventually rebelled or abstained might be as high as 50 – but did not believe Labour was at risk of losing the vote, which is expected in early July. 'We think that when it comes to it, MPs will want to vote with their government,' one said. The government has been intensifying efforts to quell a growing rebellion over welfare cuts, with whips stepping up contact with MPs and strategists drawing up plans for a cabinet reshuffle in case of resignations. Ministers are taking a carrot-and-stick approach by laying out extra support for people who face losing their benefits, while also warning mutinous MPs of the consequences of voting against the plans. Several MPs said that whips were strengthening efforts to bring them into line after Liz Kendall, the work and pensions secretary, sought to ease concerns by promising extra protections for vulnerable people. Labour whips have suggested that the expansion of free school meals earlier this month and big capital investment announced at the spending review – albeit alongside cuts to day-to-day departmental budgets – were also helping to reassure concerned MPs. Government insiders admitted, however, that deep unease about the disability benefit cuts across the party meant there was no single leader of the group of rebel MPs, so it was difficult to predict the likely scale of any parliamentary mutiny. Neil Duncan-Jordan, a Labour MP who has opposed the welfare reform plans, said: 'The government will only withdraw its damaging disability benefit cuts if Labour MPs make clear they will vote against them. 'The so-called concessions that have been suggested are nowhere near enough to undo the damage that is being proposed. The facts are undeniable: these cuts won't create jobs – they'll only push 3 million people deeper into hardship. 'After 14 years of Tory cuts, the benefits system is already driving disabled people into destitution. Another wave of cuts won't clean up their mess – it'll make things worse. I urge ministers to pause, withdraw these cuts, and work with disabled people's organisations to redesign a fairer benefits system.'


Bloomberg
a day ago
- Bloomberg
Labour Budget Squeezing Middle-Class Workers, BOE Report Finds
By and Tom Rees Save UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves' decision to push up taxes for employers and increase the minimum wage is squeezing pay for middle earners, moving work overseas and inflating food prices. That's the conclusion of the local network that feeds on-the-ground intelligence to the Bank of England, in a report that will make uncomfortable reading for the Labour government.