Time for change?
A WEEK before this issue went to press, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a General Election for July 4, which is the day after our next issue is due to be published. But ahead of the PM’s announcement, at the end of April the Labour Party had already issued its plan for rail in a document entitled ‘Getting Britain Moving’.
Political pundits widely predict that the Labour Party will win the next election, so its plans are of vital interest to railway operators and users. The Railway Magazine takes a neutral stance on political matters – not least because, even amongst consecutive Governments of the same colour, there can be widely differing views about rail. Over the 14 years since the Conservative Party has been in power, initially as a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, there have been prime ministers, transport secretaries and rail ministers both more pro-rail and less pro-rail than the current incumbents.