Current location:Stellar Space news portal > travel
DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Nationalisation is no answer to rail chaos
Stellar Space news portal2024-05-07 19:11:35【travel】8People have gathered around
IntroductionWith train reliability at a dire low, passengers forced to pay extortionate fares and often overcrow
With train reliability at a dire low, passengers forced to pay extortionate fares and often overcrowded carriages, few could deny that the railways are broken.
Some blame privatisation three decades ago. While this led to a remarkable increase in passenger numbers, the franchising model let profiteering rail bosses get away with running shoddy services.
Labour says the way to improve the network is to renationalise it. If the party wins power, nearly all train operating firms will be brought back into state ownership.
But although this Corbyn-era policy may delight activists, is it really the panacea the Left would have us believe?
Not judging by how Labour transport spokesman Louise Haigh struggled to explain exactly how it would be funded.
Labour says the way to improve the network is to renationalise it. If the party wins power, nearly all train operating firms will be brought back into state ownership (stock image)
Labour leader Keir Starmer with Labour's shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh. Will Labour be prepared to keep shovelling money into the railways at the current rate – at least £12billion a year? Leasing rolling stock would cost another £2billion a year
Will Labour be prepared to keep shovelling money into the railways at the current rate – at least £12billion a year? Leasing rolling stock would cost another £2billion a year.
In the fight for government cash, railways will always lose to the NHS and schools.
Ms Haigh claims savings can be made by modernising working practices and closing ticket offices. But Labour's union paymasters oppose such changes. Having punished the public with strikes for two years already, the militants won't hesitate to push a Starmer government around.
Anyone who remembers British Rail knows what a terrible idea renationalisation would be. Filthy, investment-starved, and even more unreliable and strike-bound than today, the passenger always came last.
As serious as the problems of our railways are, they certainly won't be solved by a return to the dead hand of state control.
Lame-duck leader
The disintegration of the SNP's power-sharing agreement with the Greens must rank as the most humiliating U-turn in Scottish political history.
Only three days after praising the deal, Humza Yousaf pulled the plug on it – before his coalition partners got in first.
The Greens were appalled after the beleaguered First Minister ditched climate targets this week. They were also angry at the SNP being outwitted by Rishi Sunak on dangerous gender self-ID reforms.
Mr Yousaf now faces a no-confidence vote. On his party's watch, Scotland has got worse – on the economy, schools and the NHS.
Mr Yousaf now faces a no-confidence vote. On his party's watch, Scotland has got worse – on the economy, schools and the NHS. This melodrama is bad for Britain. With voters increasingly rejecting the SNP, Labour is more likely to win the general election
Scottish Green Party co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater. The disintegration of the SNP's power-sharing agreement with the Greens must rank as the most humiliating U-turn in Scottish political history
On one hand, this melodrama is bad for Britain. With voters increasingly rejecting the SNP, Labour is more likely to win the general election.
But every cloud has a silver lining. It means the appalling prospect of the Union being torn apart is further away than ever.
A licence to steal
Shoplifting was once regarded as a serious crime. Not any longer.
Reforms introduced by politicians have all but decriminalised store thefts worth less than £200. As a result, the police rarely bother to investigate them.
So is it any wonder that shoplifting has reached epidemic proportions, with more than 1,000 incidents reported every day?
Meanwhile, violence against shopworkers has doubled – a statistic that should lay firmly to rest the insidious myth that shoplifting is a victimless crime.
Home Secretary James Cleverly insists the Government and police are taking this problem seriously. In that case, they should reinforce their words with tougher actions.
The crooks who brazenly sweep goods off the shelves must believe their crimes will be punished. Only then will this plague end.
Address of this article:http://www.afischerphasedrives.com/content-17d599446.html
Very good!(54152)
Related articles
- Can I get my private pension at 55 due to this bizarre birth year quirk? STEVE WEBB replies
- Hayao Miyazaki's animated fantasy stays atop Chinese box office
- Reserve ensures survival of rare monkeys
- Xi Calls for Solid Efforts to Further Development of Central Region
- Former Alabama star player, athletic director Hootie Ingram dies at age 90
- China making its mark in global services trade
- Book of Xi's Discourses on Financial Work Published
- Top HK official vows to advance Article 23 legislation at full speed
- Who is youngest
- China brings opportunities rather than risks to world, expert says
Popular articles
Recommended
Biden speaks with Netanyahu as Israelis appear closer to major Rafah offensive
Xi replies to letter from Iowa's Muscatine High School students
Xiplomacy: China, Nauru Gathering Momentum for Growth of Ties
Xi Meets Dutch PM in Beijing
Nonprofit Chicago production house Invisible Institute wins 2 Pulitzer Prizes
Xi says ready to join president of the Republic of the Congo for stronger strategic partnership
Stone carvings found inside cave of China's Longmen Grottoes
Protection efforts lift crested ibis population
Links
- 2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
- Rosie Huntington
- Technical glitch temporarily closed southern Norway airspace, causing delays at Oslo airport
- First round of North Macedonia's presidential polls shows big shift towards center
- Bruins beat Maple Leafs 4
- Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah looks to finish historic season unbeaten and with more trophies
- Pakistan wins toss, elects to field against NZ in 4th T20
- Turkish rail officials jailed for more than 108 years for crash that left 25 dead
- French Open to reveal second retractable roof court at Roland Garros ahead of Olympics
- Study says it's likely a warmer world made deadly Dubai downpours heavier