MP calls for train named after Margaret Thatcher

An MP has called on the government to name a train after former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

Speaking in the Commons earlier, Sir Edward Leigh, the MP for Gainsborough in Lincolnshire, said he wanted to see the return of a direct service between Cleethorpes and London.

He told Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander that naming the train after Thatcher would highlight how the cost of rail services could be reduced by ending "restrictive trade union practices".

Ms Alexander said she would not be "making such a commitment" at this time.

Sir Edward urged Ms Alexander to "knock heads together" to make the long-awaited service, which could stop at Grimsby, Lincoln and Market Rasen, a reality.

Speaking during Transport Questions, Ms Alexander said it was the government's ambition "to deliver a more affordable railway" through public ownership.

"This year's fare increase of 4.6% is the lowest, absolute increase in three years," she said.

"We are committed to reforming the over-complicated fare system and expanding ticketing innovation, like pay-as-you-go, in urban areas across the country."

The Government's Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act 2024 to nationalise train operations was given royal assent in November last year.

In October last year, Sir Edward told the Commons that he would "lie down on the line" to ensure a Cleethorpes to London train stopped at Market Rasen in his constituency.

LNER had hoped to introduce the route last December but said there were "infrastructure issues that need to be resolved". It is unlikely to begin services until the end of this year.

Thatcher was born and raised in the Lincolnshire town of Grantham – a stop on the East Coast Main Line.

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