Voices: UK train prices are astronomical – we should follow Spain and Germany’s lead by cutting them
The Conservative government’s damaging row with rail workers is heading towards further rail strikes this month. That’s bad news for everyone – not just commuters, tourists and businesses. It comes at a multi-billion cost to the economy that dwarfs prospective savings and makes no sense after the government has invested billions in train capacity for England, through London cross rail and HS2.
It’s therefore in everyone’s best interest to end this costly dispute and to encourage more people to use public transport. The best way forward is not to grind to a halt again but to make public transport free, as in Spain, or highly discounted as in Germany, for the rest of the year to jump-start economic growth.
The initiative could be funded from further windfall taxes including from Shell’s £9.5bn April to June profit and Centrica’s £1.3bn. These companies have seen windfall profits over normal operational costs due to Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. So, as thousands die in Ukraine we face eye-watering bills and a cost-of-living crisis.
The public should be given back the profits from excessive pricing by reduced bills and highly discounted public transport. This would reduce overall energy consumption and increase patronage and green investment in our public transport system, thereby increasing jobs and boosting economic growth.
It would also create a benign environment to negotiate pay deals by taking the edge off everyday household inflation. In particular, it would help avert more rail strikes and fast-track sustainable transport.
This would be a green alternative to the Conservative myopic plan to give the oil companies back 90 per cent of the first wind-fall tax in exchange for them drilling for more climate-changing oil. Rebates should be limited to new investment in green energy, like scaling up the use of off-peak wind energy to produce hydrogen from water to blend into our gas supplies to reduce our carbon footprint.
Both Tory leadership candidates Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have made clear that, instead of plotting a green pathway out of climate change, they intend to give back 90 per cent of the windfall tax to oil companies to make things worse. In fact, oil companies have said they will not make dramatic investment changes but simply keep our money as we instead face tax rises.
In the meantime the Conservatives have orchestrated the rail strike with the RMT, who after asking for a 7 per cent below-inflation pay deal were offered 3 per cent plus massive job cuts. That’s thanks to transport secretary Grant Shapps pulling the train companies’ pay strings.
We saw him doing the same at the DVLA last year, where he pulled a Covid safety plan agreed between management and the PCS Union off the table in order to provoke a strike as a pretext for relocating jobs and privatisation. Now the plan is to provoke a rail strike as a pre-text for removing the right to strike, having already removed the right to peaceful protest in the Police and Crime Bill. It is a cynical prelude to an election contrived as the choice between “who runs Britain – the government or the strikers?”.
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These attacks on both our democratic rights and our national economic interests are in stark contrast to other countries putting people and the planet first. The UK is lagging behind other European neighbours in its failure to offer cheaper public transport. Spain has announced free travel until December, helping tourism and workers. And Germany – who might have lost the Euros football final but is winning against England on this – is charging €9 (£7.60) for a month’s travel during the summer months.
The Conservative membership is about to decide which bad-business-as-usual prime minister to pick. However, only Labour values and vision can deliver the green growth out of the cost-of-living crisis that our economy so desperately needs.
That’s because only by working in partnership with businesses and trade unions, in accordance with the needs of our environment, can government jump start the economy into inclusive green growth and a stronger, fairer future for all.
