Hypocrite Tory minister tries to stop railway ticket office closures in own town
A Cabinet minister has slammed railway ticket office closures in his town despite them being pushed through by his own Government.
Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick has been branded a “hypocrite” for mouthing off about the proposed changes that are supported by the Tories. He has demanded that two railway stations in his Newark, Nottinghamshire, constituency be exempted from the mass closures.
The Government is backing proposals drawn up by train companies to shut counters at 974 stations across England. But Mr Jenrick said that he had “voiced concerns” with train bosses after residents warned about the “impact on the disabled and the blind, ability to get tickets not readily available online or at a machine, and concerns for safety and the potential for a rise in anti-social behaviour”.
The minister held talks with LNER, which runs Newark Northgate station, and EMR, which is responsible for Newark Castle. He posted on Facebook: “Overall I expressed concern at the proposals… Newark Northgate is a busy station that services a wide hinterland of people well beyond the town of Newark. I was surprised that it would be shortlisted for closure and asked that this be reconsidered.”
He added: “I raised the same concerns with EMR regarding Newark Castle. In addition, I made the point that this proposed closure plays into the wider lack of investment in the Castle Line and the prevailing view that the service is not taken seriously.”
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Debbie Darby, a local councillor in the area who sits as an independent, said: “As a regular user of Newark Northgate railway station I know how vital the ticket office is. The Conservative Government wants to close it, impacting the disabled and most vulnerable who rely on the staff that the Government wants to sack. Now we have a hypocritical Government minister campaigning against the decisions of his own Government. If Mr Jenrick has forgotten, I’d remind him that he is still a Government minister.”
The Mirror is leading efforts to stop the closures, which will particularly hit the elderly, vulnerable and disabled. Passengers have got until September 1 to give feedback on the proposals.
Last month we revealed that Jeremy Hunt, the Chancellor, had raised concerns about South Western Railway's proposals to shut ticket offices in his South West Surrey constituency, the day before closures were officially unveiled by train bosses. But the Government officially is supporting the mass closure of ticket offices. Rail Minister Huw Merriman told MPs: "I fundamentally believe that rather than the railway being stuck in the past, the railway needs to adapt and change in the manner that its passengers are doing so.”
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