Sheffield Green Party will be supporting a protest at Sheffield Railway Station from 8-9am on Monday 5th January calling for the railways to be brought back into public ownership. Read Caroline Lucas writing about the protest in the Guardian. Please join us.
On Friday January the 2nd train fares were increased again. We already have some of the most expensive fares in Europe. We also have the most fragmented service, and it is the case that the government is now subsiding railways (and the franchises) MORE than when British Rail was de-nationalised. Between 1997 -2012 Virgin Trains’ West Coast Mainline paid £500 million in dividends after pocketing £2.5 billion in subsidies. By contrast, the publicly owned East Coast Mainline has returned nearly £1bn to the government since 2009. The arguments for public ownership are overwhelming.
The environmental case for switching to rail and other public transport is indisputable
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The Green Party will be joining Action for Rail, the Peoples Assembly, Bring Back British Rail, Compass, the Campaign against Climate Change, We Own It, and a variety of local groups to organise leafleting of commuters at railways stations on Monday January 5th. For the full list of events click here. Later that week Caroline Lucas MP, will be presenting her private members bill calling for public ownership of the railways.