Why so quiet?
It’s difficult to compare rail costs around Europe without levelling for the effects of subsidy. Privatisation of the railways has been successful. Not since the original private railways ran it pre-nationalisation have we seen such transformation and growth in passenger numbers. But there is a case for subsidies. Particularly in the investment bucket. The commuter is paying the cost of 50 years of underinvestment.
Scotch Privatisation doesn’t work, especially when it’s used as part of austerity measures and ways to cut taxes. It should be obvious now that private management is no better than the public one, but that’s on stakeholders to hire the right people and not keep the same management in place as it costs less than hiring new talent. Austerity cuts just degraded infrastructure that now needs billions to fix, and tax cuts (for politicians to get elected) just raised the price of tickets to produce revenue for the rail system (gutted by the austerity). And don’t forget to add on the profits for ownership/shareholders and CEO bonuses!
brightbee The SNP has no control over rail fares. What is the average salary of those commuting between Glasgow and Edinburgh, certainly not the £26,000 that is claimed?
alex embo How can the fact that the UK rail system is not massively subsidised and therefore has ticket prices that are broadly in line with costs, be used to justify bringing the system into public ownership? The costs of buying out the sector would massively increase national debt – on which annual interest would have to be paid – and the running costs of the system would STILL be the same! Then we would find that we have put in place all the same things that made British Rail such a disaster before. Can she expect a fair trial in Madrid? Not likely when the judiciary are subordinate to politicians. Will her human rights be guaranteed in Madrid? We saw the pictures of the Spanish state police attacking ordinary people in the street, so her constitutional rights as an EU citizen are not sacrosanct.
Gavin It’s not for the Scottish courts to decide which charges proceed – they will merely decide whether to extradite her to stand trial in Spain.
Bung
Itwaznaus This whole Ponsati business stinks – she flees to Belgium to evade arrest in Spain, she then turns up in Scotland having been given her old job back by St Andrews Uni, then lo and behold, she gets herself a lawyer and support from the SNP – sounds to me like a nice wee cosy conspiracy to evade the course of Spanish justice.
Joe Smith The public in Scotland – not the SNP – crowdfunded her expenses for law. Overseas/ foreign matters still in hands of the British Foreign Office. Just think of all the other people who sought asylum in both Scotland and UK.
Rosie Mcgregor