A devastating new 44-page report reveals Labour’s cuts will push 400,000 into poverty and cost disabled people up to £10,000 annually, while the government refuses to make savings by cutting spending on war instead, writes Dr DYLAN MURPHY
ScotRail's nationalisation must be only the start
Now that Scotland's railways are back in public hands, we must make sure they stay that way — and that the government invests in more services, better stations and lower fares for our passengers, writes KEVIN LINDSAY
Here are the voices of DANIEL KEBEDE, FRAN HEATHCOTE, HOLLY TURNER and LEANNE MOHAMAD explaining why they will be taking part in the People’s Assembly No More Austerity demo next weekend
Recent charges under Scotland’s Hunting with Dogs Act highlight enforcement gaps, writes KIERAN COLES, revealing how police routinely give hunts notice of their presence in advance, effectively removing any chance of catching lawbreakers red-handed
DIANE ABBOTT MP argues that Labour’s proposals contained in the recent white paper won’t actually bring down immigration numbers or win support from Reform voters — but they will succeed in making politics more nasty and poisonous
DAVID CONWAY explores how trades councils uniquely bring together diverse local groups to tackle everything from domestic abuse to green campaigns, but warns they must attract younger delegates and use social media more effectively
Exempting military expenditure from austerity while slashing welfare represents a fundamental misallocation of resources that guarantees continued decline, argues MICHAEL BURKE
As Trump targets universities while Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem redefines habeas corpus as presidential deportation power, STEPHEN ARNELL traces how John Scopes’s optimism about academic freedom’s triumph now seems tragically premature
SCOTRAIL was taken out of public ownership and privatised 25 years ago today. Placing ScotRail into private hands saw Scotland’s rail services suffer for a quarter of a century, with a model of passenger service based on corporate greed and not on building the world-class rail services that Scotland needs.
Privatisation has meant corporate welfare, with the public purse subsidising private companies and failure. It has meant endless profiteering with fares escalating way beyond inflation, unaffordable for too many people — and often it has meant a deterioration in service.
Privatisation of ScotRail also resulted in a vital part of our national infrastructure being taken out of the democratic public realm, with too many decision-makers and regulators operating without accountability to the travelling public they serve and the staff they employ.
After years of pressure, the Scottish government finally listened and took ScotRail back into public ownership. We are proud of and grateful for the role of every one of our members and the members of other trade unions who have supported this campaign.
Today, therefore, is a momentous day. It is a day that heralds a new dawn for ScotRail and rail services in Scotland. We now have a huge opportunity to rebuild our railways and deliver world-class rail services that value staff and deliver for passengers.
Rail services are a vital part of our national infrastructure, in much the same way the NHS and schools are and it was a mistake of historic proportions to privatise ScotRail and leave it to the mercy of corporate vultures more interested in private profit than building decent rail services.
Our recent report A Vision for Scotland’s Railways, which we published with the other rail unions and with the help of Unity Consulting, made clear the types of rail services that Scotland needs and wants and why it is so important that the new public ScotRail delivers for passengers, for staff and to help accomplish central public policy objectives set by the government itself.
If the Scottish government is to grow Scotland’s economy, meet its social policy objective to reduce inequality, improve the health and wellbeing of Scots and critically, if it is to meet its climate change targets, then investing in and understanding the importance of ScotRail and the wider rail service is fundamental.
This means investment over many years, an end to cuts and a commitment to move from rhetoric to action when it comes to shifting people from road to rail. Rail travel is the cleanest and most environmentally sustainable mode of transport and every strategy and effort from here on in must be focused on making trains the automatic choice for travellers.
That is why trains need to be made more affordable. Reducing fares generally, but also abolishing peak fares — which we believe are a tax on workers — while making rail travel free for under-24s and over-60s. That is why we need to reduce short-termist thinking and apply long-term logic, by increasing, not reducing services and that's why we need to make our trains and train stations safe, accessible for all, including for disabled people.
We won’t achieve any of that without investing in stations, ticket offices and staff. Our people are the railway’s greatest asset and they are what help commuters feel safe on our trains and in our stations.
Now ScotRail is back where it belongs in public hands, we must not rest on our laurels — now is the time to turn ScotRail into a world-class passenger rail service that is lauded across the world. Our ambitions for ScotRail must not be limited to a model that resembles what came before. The victory to bring ScotRail back into public hands and our vision for its future can also be the inspiration for bringing the entirety of Britain’s railways back into public ownership.
Today is a day of celebration for rail staff but tomorrow we will begin scrutinising the type of public ownership that the Scottish government creates. We are intent on creating world-class services and we fully intend to push the new ScotRail, the Scottish government and the new rail regulators to ensure this is exactly what happens.
Kevin Lindsay is Aslef’s Scottish organiser.
More from this author
Our groundbreaking report reveals how private rail companies are bleeding millions from public coffers through exploitative leasing practices — but we have the solutions, writes Aslef Scottish organiser KEVIN LINDSAY
Similar stories
Our groundbreaking report reveals how private rail companies are bleeding millions from public coffers through exploitative leasing practices — but we have the solutions, writes Aslef Scottish organiser KEVIN LINDSAY
Despite promises of a new era under state control, the SNP government backs massive cuts to ticket office hours while ignoring safety concerns and excluding disabled passengers from consultation, writes ANN HENDERSON
