Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 22 September 2021
I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests.
Let me begin with the facts. Abellio ScotRail is fully funded by the Scottish Government—fact. Even before the introduction of the emergency measures agreement, the Scottish Government funded two thirds of Abellio ScotRail’s revenue—fact. The Scottish Government has announced its intention to bring the ScotRail franchise into public ownership—fact. The Scottish Government now has complete control of the ScotRail franchise—fact.
So, I ask Scottish Green back benchers and front benchers, as well as the minister, why it is that the Scottish Government, having presided over the commissioning of the Docherty report—although no one is claiming responsibility for it—is now refusing to rule out implementing that report’s recommendations, knowing that it will mean a radical cut in Scotland’s rail services, a radical cut in the workforce and a radical cut in ticket offices. It is no wonder that Professor Docherty himself has said that his plans
“will require addressing ‘difficult’ cultural and political questions.”
When I tackled the minister on the issue in a written parliamentary question last month, he replied that Transport Scotland was working to
“provide a platform”—
sic—
“to assess the scale and pace of recovery from Covid-19”,
and he spoke of
“the changing priorities and requirements of rail passengers”.—[Written Answers, 18 August 2021; S6W-01667.]
As usual, the minister did not answer the question that I asked—but, significantly, he did not deny that the Scottish Government was making its own assessment of the Docherty cuts. So, we make a simple and uncomplicated call on the Scottish Government to rule out cuts to rail services in Scotland.
At a time of climate crisis, we should be expanding our railways, not contracting them. In plain terms, I know that the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport is not here, but he was a late convert to ending the rail privatisation experiment. To him, the minister and the Government, I say in all sincerity that railways in public ownership, run for passengers not profits, are part of the solution to the climate change crisis and not part of the problem.
The other question is this: with the Scottish Government in complete control of the ScotRail franchise, why are the cabinet secretary and the transport minister presiding over Britain’s longest-running industrial dispute? In addition to that, when anti-trade union laws demanded that the workforce reballot, why was it that, at the very point that those hard-working senior conductors and ticket examiners—those key workers—were reballoting, five SNP MSPs in Glasgow decided to issue a joint statement attacking their trade union and calling on the workers to collapse the strike or break the strike? Why did they not instead issue a joint statement calling on ScotRail and their own Government to address the pay injustice, end the pay freeze and settle the dispute?
Finally, do they not recall the words of the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, who said in March 2021:
“I am clear that the pay freeze announced by the Chancellor ... fundamentally misjudges the value of front line workers.”
The SNP, supported by the Greens in government, is fundamentally misjudging the value of those front-line workers. I call on the Government and the Parliament to get on the side of Scotland’s railway workers and all their unions—to drop the planned cuts to rail services, drop the planned cuts to rail jobs, drop the planned cuts to terms and conditions and back the Labour motion at decision time.
15:57Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.
- S6W-01667 Question