Politics tends to move very slowly, and then all of a sudden, very fast. That’s exactly how Louise Haigh’s tenure as Transport Secretary for the UK government has ended.
In a flurry of briefings to media on Thursday evening, sparked by a story in The Times, sources close to Haigh hurried to minimise the impact of a resurfaced conviction of Haigh 11 years ago. The conviction had not been a topic of political debate or drama before the newspaper report.
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On Friday morning she resigned from her Cabinet post. She will remain a Labour MP, and said she remains committed to the Starmer government’s political project.
10 Downing St has announced that Heidi Alexander will replace Haigh as Transport Secretary.
What happened?
The politician, in her former career with insurance giant Aviva, reported her work phone stolen after a mugging in London. But when the phone in question was later discovered by Haigh, police launched an investigation into fraud by false representation. She pleaded guilty to the offence, even though she denied any intent. She was 24 years old at the time.
Read more: Who is Louise Haigh?
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By GlobalDataIn a statement she claimed the court magistrate had agreed the offence was not committed for gain: “The police referred the matter to the [Crown Prosecution Service] and I appeared before magistrates. Under the advice of my solicitor I pleaded guilty – despite the fact this was a genuine mistake from which I did not make any gain. The magistrates accepted all of these arguments and gave me the lowest possible outcome [a discharge] available.”
But despite the apparently small nature of the crime, Haigh has stepped down from her frontline government role citing the “inevitable… distraction from delivering the work of this government” the unearthed story would cause.
Haigh had declared the conviction in 2020 when she was appointed to the shadow cabinet by now-Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
But in a remarkably short letter to Haigh to accept her resignation, Starmer did not comment on the reasons for her departure.
“Thank you for all you have done to deliver this Government’s ambitious transport agenda. You have made huge strides to take our rail system back into public ownership through the creation of Great British Railways, investing £1 billion in our vital bus services and lowering cost for motorists,” he wrote.
Haigh’s resignation will be particularly galling as it came on the same day she had launched her “vision for integrated transport across England”.
The speech in Leeds further set out her policy aims for a “people first approach” for better connected bus and rail networks across the country.
It is as yet unclear who will step into the vital government role.
