BEITH VOTES TO BACK PRIVATISATION OF EAST COAST MAINLINE

BEITH VOTES TO BACK PRIVATISATION OF EAST COAST MAINLINE

Labour bill would have allowed public and mutual operators to run railways

Outgoing Berwick Lib Dem Alan Beith has voted (28 Oct 2014) to block a Labour bill which would have allowed the public sector and mutual operators a ‘level playing field’ on bids to run the country’s ever fragmenting rail service.

His decision has been branded as a ‘sell out of East Coast’ as the government is currently rushing through a re-reprivatisation of the service which has been bailed out twice by the public sector after private companies ran into trouble.

In 2009 Labour took East Coast into public ownership when the private operator walked away from the franchise, unable to deliver on its promises. Since then it has proved to be one of the best train operators in the industry – achieving record passenger satisfaction and punctuality; investing all its profits in better services and stations; and returning more than £800 million to public coffers. In 2014 it even managed to cut fares in real terms – something that hasn’t been matched by any private franchise.

East Coast has proven that a public operator can work in the best interests of passengers but the Tories’ ideological 1993 Railways Act prevents a public sector operator in all but the most restricted circumstances. The Labour Bill blocked by Beith and North Northumberland Lib Dems seeks to put that right – by allowing a public sector operator to be able to take on lines and challenge the train operators on a level playing field.

Labour’s Berwick PPC Scott Dickinson said

‘It’s now obvious that North Northumberland ConDems are waging an ideological war on the public sector. They’ve allowed the privatisation of search and rescue at RAF Boulmer, the privatisation of HMP Acklington and are actively voting to support the reduction of services under the re-reprivatisation of the East Coast mainline. Sir Alan’s hypocrisy over this botched privatisation in the making is astounding but comes as no surprise after the ConDems attacks on public services in Northumberland. Hundreds of jobs don’t seem to matter to the ConDems as they sell off the family silver’. 

John Haswell said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Councillor Scott Dickinson and the Labour authority for enabling this to happen but also to everyone that took part

Berwick Chamber of Trade chairman John Haswell has welcomed the reintroduction of short-stay parking on Marygate.

He has hailed the move as ‘a small victory’ in the effort to breathe new life into the struggling town centre.
He said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Councillor Scott Dickinson and the Labour authority for enabling this to happen but also to everyone that took part (in the survey) and did their bit in getting free high street parking back to Berwick, a small victory perhaps, but a one for the town.”
He was part of a working group which has pushed for the reintroduction of parking on the high street over the last 18 months. They believe it could increase the amount of footfall in the town centre and give retailers a boost.
The new bays have been introduced on a trial basis to allow 30-minute, no return within one hour parking.

'COALITION PENSION TIMEBOMB'

LABOUR REVEAL ‘COALITION PENSION CON’

‘Beith needs to explain why he didn’t come clean when 80% of the people he claims would benefit from his unfair changes to the state pension may lose out’ – Scott Dickinson, Labour

 

Labour PPC for Berwick Scott Dickinson has revealed his fears that the ‘coalition’ policy announcement that state pensions would rise under coalition plans highlighted by Lib Dem MP Alan Beith last week was a ‘ticking time bomb for pensioners’

Beith claimed that 63,000 pensioners would benefit from coalition plans to make the state pension more complicated yet a respected ‘independent’ website THIS IS MONEY has raised fears that as many as 4 out of 5 pensioners won’t see the ‘Beith Boost’ when it is due to be introduced in 2016. It says highly complicated and technical changes may see public sector workers hit hardest.

Public sector retirees will be hardest hit and Labour are highlighting the huge impact that would have on North Northumberland where over 30% of those in employment rely on public sector wages.

Beith claimed the rise in the state pension to £155 in 2016 would benefit 63,000 people in North Northumberland yet it has emerged that more than 50,000 may miss out of the pension boost.

Scott Dickinson said

‘It’s a typical, back of the envelope, piece of shoddy spin to claim that thousands of people in North Northumberland will benefit from a pension rise that the government hasn’t even worked out the impact of. The reality is that because of technical and highly complicated tinkering with the state pension rules, this government has created a situation where over 50,000 people in North Northumberland may not get a full state pension. It seems that Alan Beith doesn’t even know the potentially devastating impact of his own policy’.

 

NOTES FOR EDITORS

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-2634215/Why-millions-WONT-155-new-state-pension-theyre-expecting.html

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-2629474/Why-vital-check-state-pension-youre-going-get.html