The Medway Labour Fares Fair campaign ramps up a gear next week with a full motion to the Conservative Council to stand up for thousands of Medway residents and commuters who face eye-wateringly eye fare increases at a time of austerity.
Labour believe that the government fare increases are unfair on the hard working commuter.
Not only have the Conservatives proposed huge fair increases despite repeated pre-election pledges that they would not, but they have now enshrined the principle of parliamentary-term setting of increases without any real control. They have in effect set train fares for 2013/14 without knowing anything of the economic conditions at the time. It is a policy of folly and one which penalises the passenger.
The Conservatives have also undermined the principle of government support for railways. This is a common theme for the Tories; they undermined public ownership in the 1990s which led to the wholesale and well-documented decline of the railway infrastructure. They bodged the franchise process which led to Connex being given responsibility in 1996 for the South East / South region. A company which lost its franchise and forced the rail travel from the South East into public ownership in the mid-2000s.
This key fact is ignored by Conservatives who have a rosy-eyed interpretation of fare increases between 2005-2010. Labour were left a terrible legacy of underinvestment which they sought to improve as soon as they could. Alas many did not live in the area prior to this period and so do not remember the total bodged franchise arrangement overseen by the Tories in 1996. A franchise which was so badly signed-off by Conservatives in 1996, that commuters have suffered the legacy ever since.
The Tories claim that it is Labour that has changed position. Incorrect, Labour locally did campaign for funded railways and annual fare increases if appropriate, but only if the government continued to match or increase its subsidy to match. Therefore increased fares and government grant meant increased investment in train stock, station safety and services. The improvement in rail usage, punctuality and the introduction of HS1 is a positive legacy.
The Tories however have not only ramped up train fares but they have cut government subsidy which, according to press reports, will make not only commuting more expensive but the conditions of travel worse. The Tories point to press cuttings which point to a Labour cut in subsidy but this was not the case according to the DfT. Whether this would have happened if Labour had won the 2010 General Election is pure conjecture.
The hypocrisy of Conservatives is now all but visible. We have received a lot of private email support and public support for the Labour petition. This is an issue which galvanises public support and it is now Labour that stands up for commuters.
Next week, Medway Labour will give Conservative Councillors a chance to oppose this fare increase by supporting our motion in Full Council on the 25th November. We are offering them the chance to stand up for the middle class, to mandate their elected representatives in Parliament to oppose the train fare increases.
If the Tories reject the motion, they slap thousands of middle class commuters in the face, and it is those voters who decide next May, whether to reward those same Conservatives with Council seats or not.
The stakes could not be higher; will Tories stand up for commuters or not?
Fare's Fair Motion
Council notes that:
(i) the Department of Transport financial settlement confirmed an increase of the cap on regulated rail fares to an average annual increase of RPI +3% for three years from January 2012;
(ii) on government figures this means fares will increase in real terms by 10% over the next four years;
(iii) the Campaign for Better Transport has calculated that a 2015 season ticket from Gillingham to London Cannon Street will cost £4,995, an increase of £1,200;
(iv) Kent Conservatives, Medway Fare's Fair and Kent Conservative MPs opposed a RPI + 3% increase in train fares prior to May 2010;
(v) centralised setting of train fares was not a manifesto commitment of either the Conservative or Liberal Democrat parties in the General Election.
Council believes:
(i) the Government has imposed upon South Eastern Trains a condition to run a subsidy-free network by 2014, resulting in an average increase in fares of 3% above the rate of inflation;
(ii) this Government’s imposition of year-on-year rail fare increases for Kent’s commuters threatens to damage the Kent economy, deterring visitors, commuters and businesses from coming here;
(iii) the increase in fares will discourage people from using public transport, impacting negatively both on its potential revenues, and on environmental targets;
(iv) That Conservatives have targeted the squeezed middle class commuter and have undertaken a u-turn on promises made regarding fare increases set for an entire Parliamentary term.
Council resolves:
(i) to urge all group leaders to write to the Secretary of State for Transport to highlight the major concerns of residents that the train fare increases are excessive and urging him to limit the increase to RPI;
(ii) to write to each of the three Medway MPs and urge them to vote against any legislation that will seek to impose this fares increase.
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