Fast track to nowhere: Nationalising the railways will cost Britain dear, warns ALEX BRUMMER
Daily MailAmid the outrage from retailers and farmers over a poorly designed £40billion tax-raising Budget, Labour’s most misplaced act of socialism has gone almost unnoticed. The Labour manifesto promised to end the hybrid settlement under which mainly private sector licence holders use tracks centrally controlled by Network Rail. Public ownership: The railway nationalisation bill is on a serene, high speed journey to the statute books Transport Secretary Louise Haigh and the Chancellor Rachel Reeves fail to acknowledge that simply transferring ownership of franchises, as they fall due, to government is not miraculously going to reform malfunctioning services. Travellers looking forward to a better deal from public ownership may not have registered that within the Budget there is a built in 4.5 per cent rise in fares next March. Bad business It is disturbing to learn from senior retailers that there was pressure from Whitehall not to sign a British Retail Consortium letter pointing to the potential £7billion cost of Labour’s National Insurance and other charges and future job losses.
History of this topic
What will nationalisation mean for Britain’s rail network and passengers?
The Independent
Rail fares will continue to rise under Labour’s public ownership plan, transport secretary indicates
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Why Labour’s plan to revive British Rail won’t bring down ticket prices
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Labour pledge to renationalise railways within five years
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Nationalise the railway and slash fares: Andy Burnham’s plan for transport
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Commuters hit by biggest rise in rail fares in almost a decade
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