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DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Now last week the government launched its strategy to try to get Britain walking and cycling more but it has already been warned that the plan won’t be worth the paper it’s written on without sustained funding and investment.  Well Louise Ellman is the Chair of the Transport Select Committee and she joins me from Liverpool, a very good morning to you.  Now do you think enough is being spent?  Laudable aims, I suspect you agree, but it has been pointed out that the spend per head of population on cycling is tiny compared to the Dutch or Scandinavian countries.  

LOUISE ELLMAN: Well it is good to see the government publishing the strategy but it’s not at all clear how much new funding will actually be there and whether that funding will be consistent.  It’s all very well to have a funding programme that lasts for a short time and that’s certainly better than nothing but it is consistency that really makes a difference and I don't think we can see that very clearly in that strategy.  

DM: And if there were more consistency and more money, how much stick and how much carrot should be applied to those who don’t want to get out of their cars?  

LOUISE ELLMAN:     I think it’s about encouraging people who want to walk and cycle to be able to do it and cyclists have told our committee that the number of people who do want to cycle are simply too afraid to go on the road, they feel it’s too dangerous and that’s something that needs to be addressed much more clearly.  One of the problems is the reduction in police officers and that means that bad driving isn’t picked up on in the way that it should be.  There needs to be more done about looking at dangerous junctions, learning some of the lessons of what’s been happening in London and making sure that better safety applies not just in major cities but around the country, that’s the sort of thing that now needs to be done.  

DM: But all in all then for drivers it means you’ve really got to make it less easy and in particular take away some of the road space from them.  

LOUISE ELLMAN: Well we need to have all sorts of means of transport.  People want to drive in cars and they need to be able to do that, there also needs to be more public transport of various forms, more journeys by rail, more cycling and walking where that’s appropriate.  Cycling and walking isn’t appropriate for all journeys but it should be made easier and safer for those who want to do it and that’s what this strategy ought to be addressing.  

DM: I just wanted to ask you another transport question, the big one, and it’s about airports and it’s about infrastructure as well.  What’s your view and the Committee’s view on that continued prevarication about whether or not there is going to be a new airport, a new runway, in the south-east?  

LOUISE ELLMAN: Well the government prevarication has just gone on for far too long and our major hub airport is full and what’s happened is not that we’re standing still, but that airlines are now going to other hubs in Europe and beyond Europe and we are losing out in terms of the economy.  It’s not just about now, it’s about linking up with emerging markets for the future so the government must take a decision.  We did question the Secretary of State very recently at the Transport Committee and he said that he hoped a decision would be made by summer.  Well that’s a big hope and of course when the government make an announcement that’s actually the beginning of a new process, a new planning process and more consultation so time is running out.  It’s all about the economy and it’s time a decision was taken. I think that Heathrow is the best place for expansion but the government has to decide and do it soon.  

DM: An internal party question, Ms Ellman, and it’s about some who are identifying and accusing the leadership of allowing anti-Semitic views to flourish.  The Chair of the Jewish Labour Movement, you’ll be aware, last week said that Mr Corbyn is impotent in that rise.   

LOUISE ELLMAN: I am very concerned about anti-Semitism in the Labour party. Most members of the Labour party are not anti-Semitic but some are and some are being allowed to get away with posting anti-Semitic comments in their tweets and on their websites.  I’ve raised this in Parliamentary meetings, the leader has spoken out clearly and said that he is against anti-Semitism but it’s not just about words, there has got to be some action and we haven’t seen enough of that.  

DM: Louise Ellman, good talking to you, thank you very much indeed.