Labour denies railways will be given ‘lower priority’ under renationalisation plans – as Tories warn of ‘wildcat strikes’

Published

9 months ago

April 26, 2024

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Labour has denied the railways will be given “lower priority” if they are brought back into public ownership as the party pledged to “sweep away” the current “broken” model.

Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh promised to deliver the biggest shake-up to rail “in a generation” by establishing the long-delayed Great British Railways (GBR) organisation and bringing routes back into public ownership, if Labour forms the next government.

In a speech, Ms Haigh also pledged to establish a “best-price ticket guarantee” for travellers, offer automatic “delay repay” schemes and make digital season tickets available across the network.

But the proposals have been attacked by the Conservatives, who have claimed Labour has no plan to pay for them.

Sam Coates, Sky News’ deputy political editor, asked Ms Haigh how she was going to avoid the “trap” of British Railways – the former national railway system that was privatised in the 1990s – which was forced to compete for central government cash.

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“How are you going to make sure that you don’t end up falling into the same old trap as British Railways, where effectively, to get train upgrades, you are competing for cash with schools and hospitals, and given money is going to be very tight, aren’t the trains actually going to be a lower priority?” he asked.

Ms Haigh admitted the UK was in a “very constrained public spending environment” but said the reforms the party was setting out would deliver “significant efficiencies and cost savings for the taxpayer”.

“As I’ve said earlier, the taxpayer simply can’t afford to continue with the current broken model that is throwing good money after bad and wasting very, very stretched taxpayers’ money,” she argued.

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The shadow transport secretary also said she hoped she would be able to “reinvest some of those savings” created by the new efficiencies in the system but admitted she had not struck an “agreement” with Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, “that all of it would be”.

GBR was first proposed in 2021 after a review of the railways, with the aim of simplifying the franchise system and rebuilding passenger numbers after they fell dramatically during the COVID pandemic.

The proposed public body promised to subsume Network Rail’s responsibility for track and stations, as well as taking charge of ticketing, timetables and network planning.

But despite getting backing from Boris Johnson and his ministers, its establishment has faced continuous delays and the organisation has yet to see the light of day.

Labour is now pledging to get GBR up and running if they win the next election, with some additional pledges of their own.

The party said the body, which would be run by industry experts rather than government officials, would end the “fragmentation, waste [and] bureaucracy” of the current network.

And it would “stop profits leaking out to private operators” by taking charge of passenger lines when franchises run out – leading eventually to the whole passenger network being publicly owned.

Labour said this method would prevent taxpayers from having to cover any compensation to the operators that would be due if they renationalised the railways immediately.

The party also pledged to create a new independent watchdog called the Passenger Standards Authority to ensure GBR keeps up its standards.

And it committed to introducing a statutory duty on GBR to promote the use of rail freight – still owned by private firms – to cut carbon emissions and reduce lorry traffic.

Plan may be popular – but will Treasury sign off on the cash?

Sam Coates

Deputy political editor

@SamCoatesSky

Labour’s plan to allow the railway companies to come back into public ownership is easy to understand, will be overwhelmingly popular with the public and provides an easy dividing line with the Tories.

But will it leave the railways better off?

One key argument advanced for scrapping the old British Rail under John Major’s government in the 1990s in favour of privatisation was that it would make investment in new and upgrading trains much easier.

Under the old system, in effect the trains were competing for cash with schools and hospitals – and too often found themselves losing out.

An incoming Labour government – if we get that far – would not only find money tight, but have committed to eyewatering fiscal rules restricting their room for spending.

So how much of a priority will modernisation be?

Louise Haigh, shadow transport secretary, says that the current system doesn’t work because too much money is being wasted – including on shareholder dividends, the payments to the owners of the private companies – and this needs to change.

But when I pressed her, she revealed that she has not secured any promises from Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, that efficiencies found on the railways will be reinvested in the service.

The danger is that the Treasury nabs that money and spends it on public services they deem a bigger priority.

Even the rail companies themselves say things need to change. Whether this new alternative improves services for passengers remains to be seen.

The proposals have won the backing of Keith Williams – one of the experts behind the rail review – who recommended the creation of GBR three years ago.

He said its creation would “deliver a better railway for passengers and freight”, adding: “Running a better railway and driving revenue and reducing costs will deliver economic growth, jobs and housing by delivering better connectivity.”

But the Conservative Transport Secretary Mark Harper said Labour’s plan was “unfunded” and that that there was “nothing in it to improve services for passengers”.

“The other thing that people need to understand is what is the damage that will be done by Angela Rayner’s plan to reverse all our trade union legislation.

“You’re going to go back to French style, wildcat strikes with no notice.

“It’s not surprising the unions have welcomed Labour’s plans – it puts them back in the driving seat.”

Politics

Scotland’s former first minister Nicola Sturgeon splits from husband

Published

6 hours ago

January 13, 2025

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Scotland's former first minister Nicola Sturgeon splits from husband

Scotland’s former first minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced she has split from her husband, Peter Murrell.

Ms Sturgeon and Ms Murrell met via the SNP and first became a couple in 2003. They later married in July 2010 at Oran Mor in Glasgow.

In a statement posted to Instagram stories, she wrote: “With a heavy heart I am confirming that Peter and I have decided to end our marriage.

“To all intents and purposes we have been separated for some time now and feel it is time to bring others up to speed with where we are.

“It goes without saying that we still care deeply for each other, and always will.

“We will be making no further comment.”

Ms Sturgeon unexpectedly announced she was stepping down as Scotland’s first minister and SNP leader in February 2023 after succeeding Alex Salmond following the independence referendum in 2014.

Mr Murrell, who had been SNP chief executive since 2001, resigned from his post the following month after taking responsibility for misleading the media over party membership numbers amid the leadership race, which Humza Yousaf went on to win.

At the time, he said: “While there was no intent to mislead, I accept that this has been the outcome.”

In April 2023, Mr Murrell was arrested as part of a probe into the SNP’s funding and finances. He was later charged with embezzling SNP funds in April last year.

Ms Sturgeon and ex-party treasurer MSP Colin Beattie have also been arrested and released without charge as part of Police Scotland’s long-running Operation Branchform.

The probe, which has been ongoing since July 2021, is linked to the spending of around £600,000 raised by SNP supporters to be earmarked for Scottish independence campaigning.

Ms Sturgeon continues to deny any wrongdoing. In an interview last month, the Glasgow Southside MSP said she knew “nothing more” about the inquiry and was getting on with life “as best I can at the moment”.

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Politics

FTX to begin distributing $1.2B to creditors after Trump inauguration

Published

7 hours ago

January 13, 2025

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FTX to begin distributing .2B to creditors after Trump inauguration

A significant portion of FTX repayments will likely be reinvested into cryptocurrencies, thanks to the promising growth prospect of the crypto market for 2025, industry insiders told Cointelegraph.

Politics

Tulip Siddiq boasted of links with ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

Published

11 hours ago

January 13, 2025

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Tulip Siddiq boasted of links with ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina

Tulip Siddiq has sought to distance herself from her aunt, deposed Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina, claiming they never spoke about politics.

But Sky News can reveal that in a blog written by the now City minister she boasted about how close they were politically and published photos of them together.

In posts written in late 2008 and early 2009, when she was a Labour activist, Ms Siddiq described campaigning with her aunt in Bangladesh’s general election and celebrating her victory.

Our disclosure coincides with a new report in The Times which reveals how the embattled MP’s Labour Party flyers were found in the palace in Dhaka that belonged to her aunt, who was ousted in a coup last year.

The blog is headed: “Tulip Siddiq, member of the Labour Party action team in Bloomsbury and King’s Cross”, and in a post on January 11, 2009, Ms Siddiq told supporters: “I was really busy in Bangladesh as you probably gathered…

“I’ve put up photos of Sheikh Hasina’s post-election press conference at Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Dhaka.

“The most significant element of this press conference for me was Sheikh Hasina’s insistence that all the political parties in Bangladesh need to work together for the welfare of the country.

“It is no secret that past governments have not worked with the other political parties and we need to change this trend.

“The prime minister emphasised that the Awami League does not support the ‘politics of vengeance’ which is encouraging so let’s hope that a new political culture is created this year.”

She added: “Here’s an action shot of me with the prime minister at the press conference. I’m not sure what I was saying but it probably wasn’t that interesting!”

In a post on January 21, 2009, she wrote: “I was fortunate enough to travel with Sheikh Hasina in her car during election day.

“The prime minister-elect (Prime Ministerial candidate at the time!) drove to several constituencies in Dhaka and stopped quickly at each one to meet the parliamentary candidate or speak to the voters.”

Describing traveling in her aunt’s car, she wrote: “You can see all my photos from election day here… I apologise for the poor quality of some of the pictures. I was taking photos from inside her car which is actually quite difficult!”

“You’ll also see a photo of Dhaka Central Jail. I took that photo because Sheikh Hasina told me that this jail was practically her second home for most of her childhood as her father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, was under arrest for many years.

“She told me that she visited him with the rest of her family every weekend, so it was a very familiar landmark.”

Earlier, on December 29, 2008, under the heading “Victory!”, Ms Siddiq wrote: “The Awami League have won the elections by a landslide! Sheikh Hasina is the prime minister-elect! I am ecstatic!

“I’ve been on the campaign trail with Sheikh Hasina all day so I don’t really have the energy to write much more but I will do so tomorrow.

“However, I can’t resist uploading a couple of photos. This is Sheikh Hasina’s face just before she heard the results from an unwinnable constituency.

“Here she is after she heard that the Awami League hard work had paid off in that seat.”

The Times reports that political literature of Ms Siddiq, Sir Keir Starmer’s anti-corruption minister, was found at the heavily guarded palace in Dhaka, covered by dust and debris.

At the top of a staircase were items produced by Ms Sidddiq. One was a thank you note to local Labour Party members following her election as MP for Hampstead and Kilburn.

Another was her annual report for 2022, inviting readers to learn about her help for those affected by the cost-of-living crisis.

The new disclosures will pile further pressure on Ms Siddiq and lead to further calls on the prime minister to sack her.

Many Labour MPs believe her ministerial career is now hanging by a thread.

On Sky News earlier, cabinet minister Peter Kyle told Trevor Phillips Ms Siddiq was right to submit herself to an ethics investigation over corruption allegations and strongly hinted she would be sacked if found to have broken the ministerial code.

Asked whether she should stand down until she is cleared of impropriety, Mr Kyle said: “I think she’s done exactly the right thing. She’s referred herself that the inquiry needs to go through. I think that that’s the appropriate way forward.

“I’m giving it all the space it needs to do. I’ll be listening for the outcome as the Prime Minister will be.

“There was a process underway and we know full well it will be a functional process, and the outcomes of it will be stuck to by the prime minister and this government, a complete contrast to what we’ve had in the past.”

Sky News has approached Ms Siddiq and the Labour Party for comment.