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Your Views

Chris Matthews

29th July 2009 | Your Views

I’m in favour of a re-nationalised rail network.

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Your Views

  • If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! But the UK rail system is broke and the only way to fix it is to re-nationalise it.

    Geoffrey Knipe, Peterborough

  • We now have a muddle of over 700 companies, thanks to a stupidly ideological form of privatisation that only benefits big business and foreign governments.

    Martin Gough, Hertford

  • Fully publicly-owned, and fully funded.

    Steph Jones, East Yorks

  • We need an integrated network again not the disorganised state of a multitude of companies and complex ticketing like the state of the railways prior to nationalisation.

    Robet Kearney, Ipswich

  • I am increasingly of the opinion that natural monopolies should be in public ownership.

    Richard Stephenson Winter, Morpeth

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Bring Back British Rail and We Own It
2 days ago

๐Ÿ“ฃ Last chance to email your MP before our Tug of War: Passengers vs Profiteers event this Weds ๐Ÿ‘‡
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TUG OF WAR: Ask your MP to make sure the Railways Bill delivers for passengers, not profit

weownit.org.uk

We are organising a tug of war on Parliament Square next Wednesday 15th April and weโ€™d love your MP to be there.
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Bring Back British Rail and We Own It โ€” attending an event.
4 days ago

Want a railway run for people not profit? ๐Ÿš† Join the Tug of War: Passengers vs Profiteers in Parliament Square this ๐—ช๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐˜€ ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฑ ๐—”๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—น, ๐Ÿญ๐Ÿฎ:๐Ÿฐ๐Ÿฑ โœŠ We're raising awareness for the key problems with the #RailwaysBill & promoting the amendments aimed at resolving them ๐Ÿ“œ ๐—ช๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐˜๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐— ๐—ฃ ๐Ÿ‘‡ @top fans
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TUG OF WAR: Ask your MP to make sure the Railways Bill delivers for passengers, not profit

weownit.org.uk

We are organising a tug of war on Parliament Square next Wednesday 15th April and weโ€™d love your MP to be there.
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Bring Back British Rail
2 months ago

We welcome West Midlands Railway being brought back into public ownership today ๐Ÿฅณ But, if control over these lines is devolved to the Mayor of the West Midlands in the future, there is nothing in the current #RailwaysBill to prevent re-privatisation ๐Ÿšจ Heidi Alexander for Swindon South and Keir Mather MP must sort this! @top fans ... See MoreSee Less

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Bring Back British Rail
3 months ago

This week the Railways Bill, which will establish our new publicly-owned #GreatBritishRailways, enters Committee Stage at the UK Parliament ๐Ÿš† The fight is now on to ensure the Bill actually creates a fully-integrated railway that is run in the public interest โœŠ Read more ๐Ÿ‘‡ @top fans We Own It
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This week the Railwa
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Bring Back British Rail
4 months ago

It's that time of year again... Fancy some Bring Back British Rail campaign merch? ๐Ÿš‰ Order by the end of Tuesday 16 Dec 2025 to receive in time for Christmas๐ŸŽ„๐Ÿ‘‡
๐Ÿ›’ bringbackbritishrail.org/support
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    Our Supporters

    • Privatisation of the railways has failed. Its time to make a virtue of public ownership, and the public service provided by state employees.

      Charles Secrett, The ACT! Alliance

    • The UK public wants a publicly owned railway, and so do we. Lush calls for an end to the failed experiment of privatising essential services.

      Tamsin Omond, Lush Campaigns

    • A good public transport system should be the foundation of a fair, just, happy, low-carbon world.

      Ellie Harrison, campaign founder

    • The privatisation of the railways was a scandal that created an unworkable and expensive structure which should be replaced with a national unified network.

      Christian Wolmar, transport commentator

    • In 1948 Labour nationalised rail to rebuild Britain after a world war. Today bankers and speculators use privatised trains for tax scams. Time to bring back British Rail.

      Alex Gordon, former RMT President

    • Privatisation is only progress, if you mean progressing towards an apocalypse of injustice. Bring back British Rail!

      Josie Long, comedian

    • Something as important and necessary (and enjoyable) as train travel should be in the hands of the people, be affordable and safe, not making money for shareholders.

      Nina Power, writer

    • At its heart privatisation in Britain was never about selling public networks but about selling the rights to tax those who are obliged to use them.

      James Meek, writer

    • Transport is an essential public service and ought to be publicly owned and publicly controlled. We need an enormous expansion in the investment in our railways and that is the best way of achieving it.

      Tony Benn, politician

    • To be able to reduce C02 emissions, by persuading people to leave cars at home, we need a fast, efficient subsidised railway system that’s run for people not profit!

      Ellie Harrison, campaign founder

    • East Coast shows us that publicly owned rail works better for passengers and taxpayers. We need a railway fit for the future – it’s got to be in public hands.

      Cat Hobbs, We Own It

    • Privatisation has delivered… a system in which train operators and energy firms compete not on service โ€“ but on how many tariffs they can bamboozle customers with.

      Aditya Chakrabortty, The Guardian

    • If the private companies that took over the national railways are cutting back and eroding services at a time when the climate crisis demands expanded low-carbon transportation alternatives to keep more of us out of planes, then these services too must be reclaimed.

      Naomi Klein, writer

    • Taking our railways back from private profiteers will mean better services, fairer rail fares and more than ยฃ1 billion a year in savings for the public purse.

      Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP

    • Let’s make the case for democratic social ownership, fit for the 21st century, ensuring our railways are run in the interests of passengers, not profiteers.

      Owen Jones, writer

    • Only a publicly owned railway can deliver affordable fares, good services, high customer satisfaction, properly staffed stations and a profitable return to the public purse.

      Charles Secrett, The ACT! Alliance

    • Research into privatisation… boils down to one key finding: the only way Branson and the vast majority of train barons make their profits is through handouts from the taxpayer.

      Aditya Chakrabortty, The Guardian

    • Now is the moment to re-nationalise the railways and it has never been cheaper or more possible.

      Andrew Gilligan, journalist

    • There is no good excuse left for rail privatisation beyond enriching wealthy elites. Public ownership delivers for social and environmental needs over private profit.

      Professor Andrew Cumbers, University of Glasgow

    • Like most people in Britain, I think that a railway is a natural function of the state, and so ought to be run by the state – for the sake of coherence, transparency, continuity, accountability and national pride.

      Andrew Martin, writer

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