L

Lord Harper (Con)

Speaking in the House of Lords on 12 October 2026

Debate

Railways Bill

Contribution

I was not going to intervene, but I cannot let the point that the Minister has just made about the private sector having no interest pass. He will know perfectly well that during the pandemic the Government basically took control of the profit and loss account for the railway industry. We were trying over time to move back some of the financial incentives for operators to grow the number of passengers they had on their services. I accept that we could perhaps have done that faster, but that was the direction of travel. That would have been a more successful strategy than simply nationalising all the operators. That is the choice that the Government have made, but it was not the only choice available. There was a range of choices and the Government have chosen the one that they have chosen. I happen to think that the alternative—more opportunities for private operators to grow revenue—would have been a more successful one.

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