Louise Haigh puts Labour’s socialist agenda on the ‘fast track’ with accelerated bus public ownership plan

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Louise Haigh, the transport secretary, is set to double down on her efforts to renationalise Britain’s transport sector by bringing forward a bill to take bus services back into public ownership. Hot from winning a vote last night to allow for councils to start to run bus services, sources close to the 37-year-old transport secretary have made it clear she will introduce the Better Buses Bill to reverse Margaret Thatcher’s deregulation before the end of this year. A Labour source close to Ms Haigh said: “The Transport Secretary promised to move fast and fix things, and that’s exactly what she’s doing by putting bus reform in the fast lane. After 40 years of failed deregulation, this Labour government is delivering on our promise to put passengers first.” The move comes despite Tory claims that taking bus services into public ownership will cost the government billions it does not have to spend at a time when chancellor Rachel Reeves has complained she has to make cuts because of a £22 billion black hole in the nation’s finances.