Federation welcomes appointment of Richard Holden as Shadow Transport Secretary
Published: 29/07/2025
PICTURE ABOVE: Richard Holden MP (right) with FBHVC President Sir Greg Knight (left) and FBHVC Chairman David Whale at Portcullis House
The recent Conservative Party re-shuffle of the Shadow Cabinet sees former Transport Minister the Rt. Hon. Richard Holden MP, appointed as Shadow Secretary of State for Transport. The move has been welcomed by the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs (FBHVC), which previously worked with him when he was a Transport Minister, in Rishi Sunak's government, holding the roads and local transport brief
Transport Shadow is one of the key roles in His Majesty’s Official Opposition and Richard Holden will shadow Labour Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander.
Richard Holden was previously Shadow Paymaster General. The previous Transport Shadow, Gareth Bacon MP, has been appointed Shadow Minister for Housing & Planning.
As part of Rishi Sunak’s Government, Richard Holden was Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Roads and Local Transport, from October 2022 to November 2023, when he became Conservative Party Chairman and Minister without Portfolio.
Comments FBHVC Chairman David Whale: “The most recent re-shuffle of the Conservative Party holds in my opinion some good news with the appointment of the Rt. Hon. Richard Holden MP as Shadow Secretary of State for Transport.
“We worked with Richard when he held the post of Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport and found him to be supportive of the historic vehicle movement.
“It is therefore a pleasure to work with him again; he represents the constituents of Basildon and Billericay.”
Commented Richard Holden on his appointment: “It is an honour to have been appointed the Shadow Transport Secretary. I will work to drive forward the kind of changes that really make a difference for drivers, rail users and passengers and also for our commercial aviation, logistics, haulage and shipping sectors.
“As a backbencher I fought against and won a reversal of a Road Tax increase. As Roads and Local Transport Minister in the last Conservatives Government, I extended the £2 bus fare cap and helped ensure it was a clear Conservative manifesto commitment. A commitment Labour did not match as they abandoned the policy in Government.
“Drivers, passengers and the whole transport sector have a Conservative Team who are on their side and who will always put them and what works first. Time and again, this Government has shown that it puts ideology and party politics ahead of what actually helps passengers.”
“Ahead of the next election I will hold the Government’s decisions to account on every aspect of transport policy for the UK and internationally.”
