Hitchin Liberal Democrat Sam Collins: Grant Shapps should be sacked for failing to prevent rail strikes

Sam Collins is the Lib Dems prospective parliamentary candidate at the forthcoming 2024 General Election as well as being a Hitchin councillor.

Read his take on the National Rail Strikes

Once again Hertfordshire's rail users have been let down by the Conservatives.

The fact that Grant Shapps, who represents nearby Welwyn Hatfield, didn't bother meeting with the RMT for over a month between mid May and earlier this week tells the story really. The Tories take commuters in our area for granted time and time again. 

Due to Shapp's failings the Prime Minister must take action to ensure front line workers including nurses and police officers can travel to work, as well as allow children to attend exams. I simply cannot understand why the local MP is not calling for this. 

Shapps should be sacked for completely failing to stop these strikes, instead the Conservatives opt to play politics with people's lives. 

Now these strikes are taking place, we need emergency plans to keep our country moving. The biggest concern is keeping our hospitals staffed, police getting to shifts and children able to attend exams.

The absence of any contingency planning is frightening and a sign this country is lacking any kind of leadership.

The first and last trains are too late and too early, peoples jobs are at risk, and childcare could be really badly impacted.

Key workers simply cannot get to work to do their jobs unless they drive, at a time when fuel prices are at an all time high - as well covered by Nub News. 

One solution (which would possibly not work in this country) to this is something I have heard about being done in Japan and Australia, during a dispute, rail or bus workers there simply opted to leave the ticket gates open and run the trains on time (as always).

This meant that the workers there directly impacted the railway company without inconveniencing rail users.

While the blame for this situation lays squarely at the feet of the Tory government I would urge the unions to try to find a way to take industrial action without risking further economic damage to an economy already badly damaged by Conservative mismanagement, rising energy costs and Brexit.

Sam Collins is the Lib Dems prospective parliamentary candidate at the forthcoming 2024 General Election as well as being a Hitchin councillor.