Rail strikes: Huw Merriman says strikes not 'the right thing to do'

A normally bustling Brighton Central Station was empty at midday on Wednesday

The chair of the Transport Committee has described the latest rail strike action as "not the right thing to do".

Across Kent, Sussex and Surrey, strikes are impacting services on Southern, Southeastern, South Western, GTR, Thameslink and Great Western railways.

Transport Committee chair Huw Merriman also criticised the RMT union for not consulting members on the latest pay offer.

The RMT say members have been consulted.

Some 40,000 workers at Network Rail and 14 train operators are walking out across Britain due to a dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.

Network Rail said only 20% of services would run.

In Kent, limited services are running from Sevenoaks and Dartford into London, as well as high speed trains from Ashford. In Sussex, only the Brighton mainline is operating with a much-reduced timetable.

In Surrey, 21 stations are open but some areas including Guildford, Dorking, Reigate, Leatherhead, Haslemere and Farnham have no rail service at all.

Transport Select Committee chair Huw Merriman said he did not think strike action was "the right thing to do"

Mr Merriman, who is the MP for Bexhill and Battle in East Sussex, told BBC News: "A very fair offer has been put on the table. They haven't even put it to their members to consider and I don't think this is the right thing to do.

"It worries me greatly that if we don't get some compromise here people will switch off from using the railway."

In a statement, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "If Huw Merriman as chair of the Transport Select Committee wants to do something useful, he needs to summon Grant Shapps to speak to the committee.

"We have directly consulted our NR members on the proposals, through a series of mass meetings, who have told us the package is unacceptable."

Analysis

By Charlotte Wright, Political Editor, BBC South East

The unions say they want the government to get around the negotiating table because they say the government dictate the terms that rail companies can offer in these negotiations.

The government have said that is not their role.

The relationship between the government and the unions is tense at the moment and that has been exacerbated by the fact that the government is changing the rules around strike action, to curb the impact of future strikes. That's something that both Conservative leadership candidates have stood by.

Right now it's quite hard to see a way out of this and I don't think a change of prime minister in September is going to make all that much difference.

'Held to ransom'

Commuters have been facing the brunt of the disruption caused by Wednesday's strike action.

Commuter Peter Izard from Burgess Hill, West Sussex, said: "What's at the heart of this is a travelling public, both commuters and tourists and everybody else being held to ransom and it is clearly unfair.

"So bang some heads together and come to some agreements. I realise that we are in a cost of living crisis, but don't hold the British public to ransom."

Tomas Eriksson says strikes are impacting his business with bookings down 40-60%

In Margate, Kent, no rail services are running at all.

Tomas Eriksson, who owns Waverley House restaurant in the town, said "something needs to change" because strikes are affecting his business.

"Bookings are down 40-60% and we're not getting the walk-ins because day-trippers just aren't coming down.

"Something needs to change because it's 2022 and we shouldn't be seeing these strikes over and over again."

Over at the picket line in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, RMT member Anthony Peacock said: "This is a last resort for us, it's not something we do or take very lightly.

"We're being forced into a corner and we've got to do whatever we can to try and guarantee our future and keep the public safe."

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].