PARLIAMENTARY COLUMN

Parliamentary column Our railways are under threat from a Tory-led government determined to drive through the misguided proposals in the McNulty report. This ideologically-driven government is not remotely interested in what is best for passengers, or what would genuinely lead to a better way forward for the industry, but a single minded determination to cut spending on rail. I have been impressed by the determined defence of the railways by our trade unions, and all those RMT, Unite, Aslef and TSSA members who are fully aware of the disastrous damage that McNulty would have. Our rail industry does need radical reform, and the last Labour government started to make some progress in clearing up the mess created by the botched privatisation of the last Tory government. Creating Network Rail and bringing track maintenance and signalling operations back together and in a not for dividend company was an important step forward. As a result, and the hard work of trade unions, our railways became safer and more efficient. But I don’t believe we went far enough. I think we were too timid when we were in government and should have done much more to tackle the fragmented structure of our rail industry. The brief given to McNulty has not enabled him to take this broader look, so it is no surprise that he has not come up with the right solution. That’s why Labour has already ruled out three disastrous decisions that have been made by Ministers following the agenda set out in McNulty, and we will do all we can to stop the Tory-led government from taking them forward. First, it’s wrong for the focus to be entirely on shifting the burden from taxpayer to fare- payer, while doing nothing to tackle the money leaving the industry in profit. Families up and down the country are hurting from a cost of living crisis that is making it harder to make stagnant wages cover rising prices. And hiking fares by an average of 6% next year, followed by an average of 8% for the two years, is the wrong decision. Second, it’s wrong to close ticket offices and sack frontline staff. I know just how much passengers value the human face of the industry, not least when we have one of the most complex systems of ticket pricing in the world. Without staff, our railways will be less safe. And women in particular will fear using an unstaffed station or an understaffed train. Staff are a lifeline for passengers when journeys go wrong, or they need to be sure of buying the cheapest ticket – and we will stand with railway workers against closing ticket offices and cutting frontline staff. Third, it’s wrong to take us back to the dark days of Railtrack and break up our rail infrastructure. Worse still, Ministers are making plans to allow profit making to drive decisions over track as well as train services. I do believe Network Rail needs significant reform, but we will oppose packaging up assets in with franchises or the reversal of the steps we took to bring infrastructure back together. So what is Labour’s alternative? It’s clear the Tory-led government is to stick to the franchise model for the delivery of rail services. If they are unwilling to look again at the whole structure of the industry, then they should at the very least reform the way these franchises are handed out so that we no longer reward irresponsibility at the top. That means not rewarding companies that walk away from franchises to avoid payments to government, or who stealthily widen peak time to charge the highest prices for more of the day. Nor does it mean rewarding companies who average out the fare cap, so commuters pay way over the odds for a ticket, even if Tory Ministers have allowed for this. It’s time for an end to the something for nothing in our privatised industries anymore. Of course if Labour wins the next election then we will be able to go further. That is why the policy review that we are carrying out is looking at what should be the right structure for the rail industry to deliver rail services fit for the 21st century. Labour is now committed to looking at the best way to tackle the fragmented structure of our industry and whether the subsidy and private profit model of our industry remains fit for purpose. And I rule nothing in and nothing out and we do not start with an ideological view that private is best. If we are to continue to ask tax-payers to subsidise the running of the railways by £4bn each and every year, we cannot continue with a model where a few at the top can walk away with huge profits, while fares rise and services are nowhere near the quality that passengers expect. The country wants us to find a better way to deliver rail service in Britain. They manage it in other parts of Europe and we can do it here too. We need to work together over the coming year on developing our alternative model for the rail industry, and in the meantime stand shoulder to shoulder against the government’s disastrous McNulty reforms which are nothing more than a prescription for high fares, deep cuts, fewer staff, further privatisation and more fragmentation. I am confident that together we can win this fight for the future of our railways. Maria Eagle MP is Shadow Secretary of State for Transport FIGHTING FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR RAILWAYS RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: january 2012 :: RMTnews 9 RFA members fighting for decent pensions