Rees-Mogg criticised over rural buses

THE co-leader of the Green Party and a second Bristol councillor have reacted to Jacob ReesMogg’s comments saying there ‘is not going to be public transport’ into Bristol from rural areas.

The North East Somerset MP urged people to stop making motorists’ lives more difficult when questioned over whether increased civil servant jobs in the city would be supported by more public transport.

He gave an exclusive interview to the Bristol Post website Bristol Live last week while announcing 800 new jobs as part of the Government’s ‘Places for Growth’ programme.

Mr Rees-Mogg said: “My general view is that I wish people would stop pillorying the motorist.

“My constituents in North East Somerset are almost all motorists and at every turn people seem to be trying to make their life harder and I feel strongly against that.

“If you’re living in a rural area there is not going to be public transport to get you into Bristol. I represent a rural area that is relatively sparsely populated and people need their cars.”

Co-leader of the Green Party and Bristol city councillor Carla Denyer has pushed for public transport to be properly funded during her time in local government.

She highlights how the effects of cuts to services have led to a decline in routes available to people in rural areas.

In response to the MP’s comments on public transport, Cllr Denyer said: “If the Conservative government was serious about improving people’s lives and tackling climate change then it would make improving public transport in rural and urban areas a priority.

“Frustratingly, public transport is simply not up to standard in many areas of the South West, and the reason for this is partly Conservative policies.

“Since bus services were taken out of the hands of local authorities, and financial support reduced, we have seen a dramatic reduction in the number of routes available to people.

“Successive governments have failed to address this problem.

“The Green Party would make travelling by public transport cheaper than travelling by car. We also want to see all local authorities given back control over bus services, as London currently has, and support given to councils to restore lost bus routes and open new ones.”

North East Somerset is one of the areas affected by timetable changes, with some bus services seeing a reduction in frequency.

Councillor Emma Edwards agreed there was a lack of public transport provision for rural areas and she added: “Everyone in the UK, including Mr Rees-Mogg’s own constituents, have been let down by his government’s failure to properly support public transport. That has to change.”