A safe pair of hands to drive our party forward
EARLIER this week, I had the pleasure of hosting a visit to Bristol from Keir Starmer, who I hope will soon become the next leader of the Labour Party.
We picked Keir up from Temple Meads station in one of Bristol’s new red bio-buses and took him to the Lawrence Hill depot.
There he met with drivers and was shown the refuelling station, which uses biogas created, somewhat bizarrely, from food waste from Croydon.
He then took a double-decker bus for a spin around the depot and, much to my relief, proved to be a safe pair of hands at the wheel (a metaphor there for leading the Labour Party, I think!).
Bristol will soon have the largest biogas bus fleet in the country, helping reduce emissions and air pollution in the city.
This is the result of partnership working between Bristol City Council and the bus company, which has also led to the Bristol Bus Deal, under which First Bus will run more services on key commuter routes at peak times, with the aim of doubling the number of journeys taken by bus, in return for the council putting in more bus lanes and bus priority measures.
It’s imperative that we get more people out of their cars and onto public transport, as well as encouraging active travel – that is, cycling and walking.
But people will only be persuaded to switch to buses if they are reliable, and affordable.
We need to make sure that bus routes serve the needs of local residents. This was something that came up regularly during the recent Brislington by-election campaign and will, I am sure, be pursued with vigour by our newest councillor, Tim Rippington.
What’s happening with the buses in Bristol shows what can be achieved when Labour is in power at a local level, but too often our
efforts are stymied by a lack of resources and support from central Government.
I was, of course, hugely disappointed by the general election result last month, although delighted that my Labour colleagues Thangam, Karin and Darren and I all held our seats.
The leadership contest is an opportunity for Labour to reflect on why not enough people felt able to give us their votes this time, to learn lessons from our defeat, and to rebuild so that we are once again seen as a credible party of government.
I’m supporting Keir Starmer for leader as I think he can do this: he had a hugely impressive career as a lawyer before entering parliament; he has demonstrated his forensic skills at the despatch box, handling a very complex brief; and above all, he is principled, honest and, I believe, someone the voters will trust. We will find out on April 4 whether party members agree!
People will only be persuaded to switch to buses if they are reliable, and affordable