The Transport Secretary has refused to rule out increasing rail fares by 3.8%.
Grant Shapps was challenged in the House of Commons about whether the public could expect to fork out more for their journeys by shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh.
The Labour MP described the possible increase as "brutal".
Questioning Mr Shapps today, she said: “Ahead of a tough Christmas, people across this country are paying the price of Tory inflation.
“Will he rule out the brutal 3.8% hike in rail fares rumoured for millions of passengers next year?"
Ms Haigh added that the price of commuting from Dewsbury into Leeds has risen three times faster than pay since the Tories had been in power.
Mr Shapps replied: “She’s right about inflation of course, but it is a global post-pandemic issue, rather than specific to this country, and that’s why the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a series of measures, including a big uplift in the living wage of 6.6%, outclassing even inflation.
But Ms Haigh was not happy with his answer.
She said: “Rail passengers across the country will have heard that reply and know that he is not going to rule the massive hike (out) next year.”
