Author Archives: GovWorldMag

Rachael Maskell MP, Labour’s Shadow Rail Minister, commenting on the announcement that Network Rail is to sell £1billion worth of public assets, said:

“This quick-fire sale of Network Rail’s assets is a shameful attempt by the Tories to plug a gap in the company’s cash flow by sacrificing its capital assets. Selling-off the family silver to compensate for a budgetary shortfall is the completely wrong approach.

“Flogging assets doesn’t solve the underlying problems with our railways: a fragmented, privatised railway system that drives up costs and a Government which squanders money through a failure to plan investment.

“The Government should instead prioritise improving Network Rail’s efficiency and ensuring necessary funding is delivered.”

Cat Smith MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Voter Engagement and Youth Affairs, commenting on the Government’s decision to ditch their promised youth policy statement, said:

“The General Election should have served as a wakeup call to a Conservative Party that has ignored young people for years, but this decision shows the Tories continue to treat young people as an afterthought.

“This indifference has real effects; figures for poverty, material deprivation and unemployment, all show young people are suffering the most under the Tories’ austerity agenda.

“Labour in Government will prioritise young people’s needs and ensure that youth policy and practice is coordinated across Government.”