'Tories will steam in and shut ticket offices regardless of what people want'
An extended period of consultation over the future of our railway ticket offices ends today.
Public reaction to the Tory plan to close virtually all of them has been phenomenal: a loud, angry nationwide “No!”
Several hundred thousand voters have formally objected to the shutdown of 974 booking centres, which will hit the disabled and elderly hardest.
We’ll now see whether the Government has listened to the people, or the process of asking our opinion was a total sham.
It usually is. Consultation with this lot means softening-up public opinion before doing exactly what they intended to do.
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This time, they can’t just pretend that nothing has happened. Mark Harper, the invisible Transport Secretary, will have to come out of hiding and say something.
Let me make a prediction. There will not be a climbdown. The Tories will go ahead with the closure programme, as they did with coal mines, steel works, Sure Start centres, bus services, NHS walk-in centres, and, and, how long have you got?
They might promise a review of the scheme. A pause, even. A slower pace of closure, perhaps. Better redundancy for the booking clerks. Special help for those unable to operate complex ticket machines.
Hundreds marched on Downing Street to call on Sunak to halt his planned closures of ticket offices (Nigel Howard)But they are determined to get what they want: a dehumanised railway – and revenge on the rail unions for this year’s industrial action over jobs and pay.
Tory malice knows no bounds, and no time limit. Ask the miners.
The real losers in this cynical exercise of power by a dying government are us, the rail users.
And we mustn’t forget that when the time comes for us to help Conservative MPs find other employment.
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When I saw the rubbery features of travel expert Simon Calder on TV I knew the holiday flights issue was serious.
The Patron Saint of Travel Trouble is always on hand to offer doom and gloom. But nobody, not least its £477,000 a year (plus £281,000 bonus) CEO, has mentioned New Labour majority-privatised the National Air Traffic System.
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Sell-off invariably means lower investment, worse service to the public, mega-salaries for bosses and big dividends to shareholders.
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Last week I highlighted Eris, a worrying new variant of Covid, and urged free jabs for all over 50s in a winter vaccination programme.
Another highly mutated form of Omicron, BA.2.86, nicknamed Pirola, has since emerged. And the Government has just accelerated plans to vax the vulnerable and over-65s, starting in 10 days’ time.
Don’t panic! This is a precautionary measure. But to avoid public anxiety the authorities must provide free vaccination for all 50-65s, instead of offering “jabs for cash” at pharmacists as they propose for Eris.
Protection should be provided by the NHS at the point of need, not the point of sale.
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Michael Parkinson exuded amiability and gave the air of a man surprised by stardom. But a writer friend discloses he was capable of steely ambition.
Parky told her he was originally lined up for a show titled The Three Michaels, with news host Michael Barratt and affable Michael Aspel sharing the interview role.
But miner’s son Michael told BBC bosses: ”No – it’s just me or nothing.”
Best not to get in the way of a Yorkshireman on the make.
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