Labour’s rail plans ‘will pay for itself’ in efficiency

Labour’s plan to re-nationalise the railways will pay for itself by delivering a more efficient service, shadow chancellor John Mcdonnell claims.

Mr Mcdonnell dismissed claims theprogramme including taking back the rail operating companies into public ownership as the current franchises end - represented a big hole in the party’s tax and spending plans.

He said: “There isn’t a big hole in it. When you acquire an asset that is a valued asset, it pays for itself because it is an earning asset. That therefore covers the cost of nationalisation itself.”

He highlighted the example of the East Coast line which he said generated an income for the Treasury when it was temporarily re-nationalised and was facing the prospect of a further Government bail-out now it was in private hands.