Southport rail users treated with “utter contempt” says Labour’s Liz as “leaked” emails reveal Govt plans.
Department for Transport officials and the government knew of potential problems facing Northern Rail two years before the current chaos and treated Southport and its rail users with disdain, Labour has claimed.
The accusation comes after emails obtained by Labour MP Lisa Nandy show that issues anticipated by the government’s rail plans were already recognised in 2015 and that a misinformation campaign was suggested to alleviate fears and distract from closures.
A series of emails released to the Wigan MP via a Freedom of Information request show that Southport to Leeds was not viewed as a “valued” key route but was agreed to as “a sop” to try and placate local residents who were to lose the Piccadilly/Airport route. Despite claims by the government within the last few months appearing to suggest otherwise, the emails also state that:
” Diversion of the Southport to Victoria is a pretty much inevitable consequence of our specification”.
Perhaps the most revealing and damning comment on the situation is advice from DfT officials on implenenting a “classic handling strategy” to minimise adverse reaction to the closures:
“Propagate the myth that the service is closing entirely, then people will rejoice at the news that it is merely being diverted to Victoria”.
The email was then signed off “yours cynically” by the official.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Lisa Nandy accused the government of withholding information saying:
“The government has said that Network Rail didn’t deliver and Northern wasn’t prepared… I have been handed emails from within DfT that show that ministers and officials were warned of impending chaos as long ago as two years ago. These emails are a disgrace.”
She challenged the Prime Minister to comment on the situation but Theresa May refused, believing the correspondence was leaked, despite it being released via the FOI procedure.
The DfT has denied any prior knowledge of the timetabling issues currently causing so many problems but Labour’s Parliamentary candidate for Southport, Liz Savage, says at the very least the emails reveal just how poorly Southport has been served by the government and its officials:
“It’s no good the Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and Southport’s Tory MP Damien Moore posturing on this issue. They have been quick to try and point the blame at Northern Rail and Network Rail but it’s clear that the government is neck deep in this quagmire and has treated Southport and its residents with utter contempt. Our case for renationalising the railways grows stronger by the day.”
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