During the China flu pandemic- we urged the Government to resist their liberal interventionist urges – and to stop printing money – and that flooding the economy with new cash and keeping interest rates at an unsustainable low level was a recipe for disaster.

And now after 2-years of uncontrolled monetary spending of our money we now have rampant inflation – heading to a two-digit number.

And none of that was the fault of the Railway men and women – regardless of the ridiculous utterings of our PM and Transport Minister.

As Milton Friedman – the great economist said – Inflation is a monetary phenomenon. It is made by or stopped by the central bank.

Therefore, for the Tories to try and blame – the railway union for needing salary increases to enable them to maintain their living standards due to Government inflation – is laughable.

Just as laughable – the fact that the Socialists can not make a logical argument how to counter inflation – as then they would have to look at reducing Government spending…. which would be akin to the Islington luvvies saying that Karl Marx was wrong.

And so, we have amoral politicians – spending our money – on hotels for illegal immigrants, a few billion here to Ukraine, a few billion here on any other PM “pet project” – probably a few billion more to be promised at the joke Commonwealth meeting this week…but none for the railways!

Prior to the China virus

  • 2019/20 was the second highest passenger journeys on record
  • By 2019 rail use had increased the fastest out of all modes of transport this century

BUT

  • Government subsidies were £11 billion per annum

And since the final end of Big Brother restrictions

  • Rail travel has doubled comparing Apr 2021/March 2022 over Apr 2020/March 2021

For us the significant questions are NOT how can we control inflation? That answer is known, cut off government printing money and over spending but how can we make rail – a winner in the 21st century?

And it is not by sacking hard working people or asking them to accept a lower standard of living.

The objective is known – only how to get there should be for debate…

How can we motivate the growth of freight use on the rail network?   Movement of goods must be rail led and not truck led.

How can rail assist our environmental / pollution promises? Surely some of the green levies should be openly and transparently placed in the railway’s budgets and not into windfarms which not only blight our countryside but provide derisory energy returns.

With the return-to-work directive that desperately needs to be issued – passenger numbers would soon return to 2019 figures – and the challenge here is to address the fact that that morning peak standing levels were at 19.3% passengers standing in autumn 2019 – that is just not acceptable.

 

So, the question is not how to slash and burn but how to grow a sustainable business model…

And the unions who have every right to defend the livelihoods and working conditions of their members – need to be part of the solution – but a solution based on the long-term vision for rail in the 21st century.

Their members – who are also “our people” deserve nothing less