Government advisory group, the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Infrastructure (APPGI) has appointed newly-elected Labour MP for Northampton South, Mike Reader, as its chair.
Before politics, Reader was a director at construction firm, Mace. He said he will draw on his near 20 years' worth of experience, as well as the expertise of the group’s secretariat – the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) – and others as he steps into his new role.
Also joining the APPGI as officers are: Baroness Young of Old Scone (Labour); Tom Gordon MP (Liberal Democrat, Harrogate and Knaresborough); and Blake Stephenson MP (Conservative, Mid Bedfordshire).
Reader was confirmed as chair at a general meeting in London in November – the group’s first meeting since May. As with other similar parliamentary organisations, it had been put on hold in the lead up to the general election.
Chair of the National Infrastructure Commission, Sir John Armitt, told the meeting that “closing the gap between the infrastructure the country has and what it needs will be a defining challenge for this Parliament,” and described the urgency to meet that challenge as “unprecedented”. He highlighted the upcoming ten-year infrastructure strategy, due in the spring, as “an opportunity to reset the UK’s approach”.
There are currently 49 members of the APPGI, and the group continues to grow.
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