High rail fares unfair for our Armed Forces
I told you Harry would win The Traitors.
What an amazing piece of telly it was. I backed the young Army engineer from the start and was thrilled when he held his nerve to the end.
Firstly, I firmly believe his Army training helped him to be the best traitor. It teaches you to be part of a team.
Secondly, if you are going to be different from the rest of the team, you have to let them think you are playing their game while quietly playing your own.
Finally, as well as teaching you
Wresilience, the Army teaches you how to regroup after losing one of your team.
I have been speaking to Harry since he won and he told me the Army has made him the man he is today.
He’s also getting support from football pundit and Man Utd great Gary Neville as he navigates his new life.
I really hope that he is a huge success. hat kind of country do we live in when our serving soldiers cannot afford to travel home to see their families for the weekend?
In my work supporting the Armed Forces, every week a soldier tells me that he or she is struggling to cover the cost of their train fares home to see their families.
And I know what they mean – I can’t afford to go gallivanting in London for a weekend at the drop of a hat because train fares have gone through the roof, unless you can book them weeks or months in advance.
There is only one rail line from Manchester to London and one train company runs that line, so can they charge whatever they like?
And don’t get me started on how much money the HS2 debacle has cost.
A good friend of mine from the Army is based in the South of England, but his family live in Newcastle.
The cheapest rail ticket he can get, with a forces railcard that he has to pay for, is around £90 for a five-hour journey with three changes.
And here is me thinking the Government wanted to help the environment by encouraging us to ditch our cars and use public transport.
I don’t see much encouragement there. To me the prices of those tickets says the Government and the rail companies are just paying lip service to their anti-climate change boasts.
How have we got to the stage where it is morally acceptable to charge people who are putting their lives on the line for our country that sort of money, just to be able to see their families?
We can all see the unstable situation the world is in with Russia, Ukraine and the Middle East that we are, ultimately, being drawn into. Meanwhile, these young soldiers who are trying to serve King and country can’t afford the fares to go home at the weekend. Shouldn’t the British Forces rail warrant be extended so soldiers can go and see their families?
The increase in train fares for us all has bothered me for years and I have tweeted Grant Shapps about it, both when he was Transport Secretary and now he is Defence Secretary. He hasn’t responded. I would be delighted to come to Downing Street, sit down with him and present the stories of all the people I meet on my Army travels on this issue.
So come on Mr Shapps, let’s get a date in the diary.
Soldiers deserve to go home for free
I would be delighted to meet Grant Shapps and discuss this