Labour 'ripping up roots of Thatcherism' on transport

The government is "ripping up the roots of Thatcherism" with its plans to bring train and bus services back under public control, the transport secretary has said.

In a speech to Labour Party conference, Louise Haigh said privatisation of transport belonged to the past and had failed.

The government is bringing in new laws to renationalise railways in Great Britain and giving more local authorities in England the power to take control of bus services.

Haigh said this would mean services would "work for passengers not profiteers".

She told delegates 30 years of rail privatisation had "left us with a system that served no one other than its shareholders", with record delays and cancellations.

Meanwhile, she said the privatisation of bus services meant "operators have been allowed to pick and choose routes and services that put profit ahead of passengers".

"We are ripping up the very roots of Thatcherism that have undermined and run down our transport system for decades," Haigh said.

"Privatisation of our transport is not pragmatism. It hasn’t spurred innovation. It hasn’t made things better. It belongs to a past that failed."

Responsibility for running train services was handed to private companies during the 1990s.

Labour has promised to renationalise nearly all passenger rail services within five years, with a new public body inheriting existing contracts when they expire and taking on responsibility for running services.

Legislation to bring in the change is currently making its way through Parliament.

Train companies have faced criticism over fares and reliability, with critics saying privatisation has led to an inefficient and fragmented system.

However, Rail Partners, which represents private train operators, has argued nationalisation will increase costs for the taxpayer.

Under the government's plans for buses, all local authorities in England would be allowed to introduce a franchising system.

This would mean they can decide routes, timetables and fares, with operators bidding to run the services for a fixed fee.

The government has also pledged to remove a ban on publicly owned bus companies.

Until the 1980s most bus services were delivered through publicly owned companies, often run by councils.

But under then-Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, services outside London were deregulated and privatised, leading to the mass sale of council bus companies.