Being in France means that I am surrounded by examples of nationalised services that work. While I think that few Brits would consider subsidised cinema tickets (my sister-in-law genuinely works in a state cinema) a priority, I think, for many, the argument of nationalised transport is won.
The Labour party is good on trains. It is a bit baffling to me, then, why last week’s Labour train stories seem to have been for the few, not the many.
This might be the only time I ever do this, but I shall cut Chris Williamson MP some slack. He said something ill thought out, not in his area of expertise, in a slow news week. And the suggestion that women-only carriages might be a good idea was roundly dismissed by all, including Jeremy Corbyn. My favourite argument against it was that we don’t try to tackle rising racial hate crime by segregating black people. I received a series of emails on the subject, with one suggestion of a gropers’ carriage, where gropers and those who want to be groped can get it on. I fear, however, that gropers would have to settle for groping each other. I’ll stick with the tried and tested solution of more train guards, good CCTV on trains and actually prosecuting the crime. I realise my suggestions are less amusingly Carry On, but they work and help explain why reporting of this crime has gone up enough to cause this furore. Please God, let this be the end of this nonsense.
Then we had the resurfacing of the Corbyn-sits-on-the-floor “Traingate” incident after some new footage was released – which seemed to be a relatively self-indulgent chance for Corbyn fans (not the man himself) to go on about Corbyn rather than the issue. It seemed very much like feasting ground for the few. The Labour party is good on trains; let’s stick to policy, not pantomime.
