Pricing people off the railway

In recent days we’ve seen the announcement from government that rail fares will go up by another 3.8 per cent, meaning average fares will rise to an eye-watering 48.9 per cent more than they were in 2010.

I know from my constituents that this announcement will pile more misery on to our city’s commuters and families and it will do nothing to stimulate our economy once Portsmouth comes out of the pandemic.

Continuous fare rises also undermine urgent action to tackle the climate emergency by pricing people off the railway.

Portsmouth’s passengers are paying more and more each year to travel on increasingly overcrowded and unreliable trains with average fares that have risen twice as fast as wages.

That is why I continue to take action on this issue in parliament on behalf of our city.

Labour recently forced a vote in the House of Commons demanding Mr Johnson reverses the north’s rail betrayal, however Tory MPs voted against plans to force the PM to stick to his promises.

A once-in-a-generation chance to transform opportunity across the whole country, rebalancing the economy and making it work for working people now looks set to be lost.

The worst part is that the communities like our own who will feel the brunt of years of broken promises, empty words and no action, are at the same time being squeezed by the Tory tax bombshell, rising bills and this latest rail fare price hike.

The prime minister was elected on a promise to level the playing field, to make things better for households across the country. The reality is, he has pocketed that support in the knowledge he would go back on his word. I will continue to stand up in parliament for our city’s families and campaign for a transport network that works for the people and communities who rely on them. Stephen Morgan MP Portsmouth South Shadow Minister for Schools