Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill third reading speech
Transport Secretary speech as the Public Ownership Bill successfully passes through the House of Commons and Shadow Great British Railways is formally stood up.
Introduction
Madame Deputy Speaker, I beg to move that this Bill now be read a third time.
It has been an extraordinary privilege to take this Bill through the House, as the first major piece of legislation to pass through the Commons under this Labour Government.
The work to rebuild Britain, and return to a politics of service, started the moment we entered office.
We pledged to act decisively: to get our country moving and our public services working.
I set out my motto for the Department for Transport: to move fast, and to fix things.
That’s why this Bill wastes no time in fulfilling one of our central manifesto commitments – calling time on the 30-year ideological privatisation experiment on our railways that:
- failed passengers
- failed to modernise our railways
- failed our economy
It is why this government has begun the work of reform by bringing services back into public ownership. So, our railways will finally be run in the interest of passengers.
Rail reform
Madame Deputy Speaker, there will be immediate benefits. Our railways will serve the British public – be they passengers or the taxpayer – and as we bring services into public ownership, we will drive up performance.
We will remove the burden of the millions of pounds squandered every year in private sector management fees.
We will bring services into public hands as soon as their contracts expire.
But if operators fail to deliver in line with those contracts, if they continue to let passengers down time, and time again, I won’t hesitate to use every tool at my disposal to drive up standards, including terminating contracts early, where appropriate.
So, in my meetings with Avanti and Transpennine, and in the Rail Minister’s meeting with Northern, LNER, East Midlands Railway and Cross Country, as well as their Network Rail counterparts, we have been clear that we will not tolerate the poor performance the last government tolerated any longer.
And my officials will drive improvement using the mechanisms in those contracts.
This work is already bearing fruit.
Last week, LNER and ASLEF resolved their long-standing, local dispute at no cost to the taxpayer, preventing 22 days of industrial action whilst ensuring an improved service for passengers.
This saw no driver cancellations over the weekend and this morning, the first time this has occurred for many years.
Last month we ended the longest strike in our railway’s history. A strike that cost the taxpayer, hundreds of millions of pounds in lost revenue, and cost the economy more than one billion pounds.
A strike that the opposite party deliberately prolonged and provoked at enormous cost to the taxpayer and passengers.
Now a passenger-centred railway needs workforce reform, I do not shy away from that fact.
As we move towards GBR we will waste no time driving those reforms forward.
It is an area where the party opposite totally “failed” – that’s a quote from the former Conservative Rail Minister.
He’s no longer in this place, but to his credit, unlike his colleagues, he has at least had the decency to apologise for what he put our country, and our railways, through.
Madame Deputy Speaker, we’re under no illusion, this Bill isn’t a silver bullet.
It’s the first stop on our journey to a modern railway for a modern Britain.
We will introduce separate legislation later in the session to consider wider reforms that are required.
Because fixing the industry’s crumbling foundations is the only way to deliver lasting improvements that passengers expect and deserve.
By providing national leadership and a single point of accountability, GBR will bring track and train together.
They will plan services on the whole system basis. They will increase innovation whilst cutting waste. They will put an end to outdated working and management practices and they will end the operational meddling of Whitehall that has characterised the industry, particularly post-COVID.
In short, we will create a simpler, safer and more reliable rail industry, relentlessly focussed on passengers and growing our economy.
Now that of course, can’t happen overnight.
But, as Passenger in Chief, I’m not prepared to wait.
That is why today I have laid a Written Ministerial Statement formally standing up Shadow Great British Railways.
To bring together the department’s passenger services, Network Rail, and the Operator of Last Resort.
For the first time in 30 years, the railways will begin to act as one coherent system – with the political backing to make decisions in the public interest.
Shadow GBR will review performance and finances. They will begin the work to modernise our railways and unblock barriers to ticket reform. And they will start to make the urgent improvements now for passengers and freight.
Thanking colleagues
Before I finish, I would like to thank my honourable Friend the Member for Wakefield and Rothwell for his excellent work, supporting and dedicating his time in getting this Bill through this House.
I also extend my thanks to the Clerks, the Chairs and Parliamentary Counsel.
And, of course, to my fantastic officials, who have worked at pace and have done an excellent job supporting us in our first 2, very short, months in office.
Finally, I am hugely grateful to honourable members on all sides of the House for their scrutiny and collaborative approach.
And I’d like to add my congratulations to the many honourable members that we’ve heard give their maiden speeches throughout the passage of this Bill.
Conclusion
Madame Deputy Speaker, this Bill represents a line in the sand.
Showing a government that is willing to roll up its sleeves, do the hard work to fix what’s broken and reform what doesn’t work.
Getting this right matters.
It matters for people up and down the country – for whom the railways are their route to opportunity.
It matters for communities that need a reliable railway to support businesses, retain talent, and attract investment.
And it matters for this mission focussed government.
Because, from economic growth to clean energy, the railways underpin our efforts to rebuild Britain, and deliver hope and opportunity to everyone, wherever they live.
And with that, I commend this Bill to the House.