As the FT has noted:
Ministers are poised to renationalise the failed Northern rail franchise as the government pledges to invest £500m in reopening defunct lines, in the latest bid to stem the crisis in Britain's privatised network.
Grant Shapps, transport secretary, is expected to confirm on Wednesday that Northern will be removed from the control of Arriva, part of German state-owned railway company Deutsche Bahn, and placed in the hands of the UK government's “operator of last resort”, government figures said.
Three thoughts follow.
First, this makes a mockery of the whole of rail franchising. When the government is always available to take over a failing franchise this, effectively, makes rail franchising an upside only bet. How many times does this have to be evidenced before the charade is abandoned?
Second, playing with the size of the franchised entity by splitting it into two parts, as the government is apparently considering, will not solve its problems. It will instead just make co-ordination across the Pennines harder to achieve. Splitting also ignores the fact that the split between Network Rail and the operators is already at the heart of many of the U.K. rail system's problems.
But perhaps most interesting is the absence, anywhere that I have seen, of the the question ‘how are you going to pay for this?'. Is that something the Tories are not asked? Is it exclusively a question for Labour? Have journalists finally realised that the answer is ‘by paying for it'? Or is it that holding this government to account is not within the new remit of journalism in the Johnson era? I do not know the answer to this. What I strongly suspect, however, is that there has not been an outbreak of understanding of modern monetary theory. So why has this happened?
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Ok, I,m a cynic but if you want access to Johnson and continue to be fed tasty morsels…..
We all know the answer to that one Richard. The next question is, what can be done about it?
Here’s some people who are at least giving it a try:
http://www.coldtype.net/MediaNorth.html?fbclid=IwAR0E5ig04MMGgjMg4FSdSzrmvU24H_j1ZqedMGphHTI4Jb9j1dKPOxpTcF4
I suspect that Cold Type link doesn’t work?
This might be better!
http://coldtype.net/MediaNorth.html
Slightly off topic, let’s hope Northern Rail passengers experience similar improvements to those of East Coast passengers each time their service is renationalised.
First time was 2009 and there followed 6 good years. Great service I enjoyed taking the train during these years.
Then in 2015 the franchise was privatised again and standards declined. The wifi stopped working the carriages where cramped and prices went through the roof. Virgin East Coast were the worst. I avoided using the train if I could. Now we are renationalised again and things have improved, especially the new LNER Azuma trains.
Gotta invest in our railways. It’s the future!
Agree with all of that
Although stuff about the railways is always of interest, I’ve been disappointed at the lack of responses to this post commenting on what I took to be Richard’s main question.
People regularly comment intelligently here on issues close to their hearts – e.g. the climate emergency, independence for Scotland, the public understanding of money, inequality, the evolution of Capitalism, even tax justice! I’d suggest that what we saw in this recent election has serious implications for all of these issues, in that the “media”, in all its forms, is subject to powerful influence and manipulation in pursuit of objectives not necessarily in the best interests of the country or its population.
Clearly we don’t have a “free press”, to use an old fashioned term. A few corporations and billionaires and “dark” sources tell the newspapers what to write, and the broadcast media follows the agenda. A majority of the population absorbs this agenda without question. Attempts to question the acceptable “facts” are pushed away and lost to view.
There is no hope for “progressive” policy change on any issue as long as this deeply corrupt system survives. And as far as I can see, no-one seems to know what to do about it.
Alternative forms of ‘media’ are available and hopefully will grow as people begin to vote with their fingers (as most are accessed via social media). I suspect that one of the reasons that ‘fake news’ is such a concern for Governments around the world is that it challenges the MSM narrative and is why there are attempts to block access or shut down the sites concerned. I don’t have the links to hand but here are a few – Novaramedia, Tribune, Media Lens, Double Down and there are more. As well as Richard, John Pilger, Robert Cohen, Jonathon Cook, Craig Murray and others are doing their best to counter some of the prevailing narrative and are worth checking out if you haven’t already 🙂
Thanks
Royd, thanks for what I assume you intend to be reassuring advice. I wonder how old you are? I am in my late 60’s. I am familiar with all the names and websites you mention (except the “new” Tribune, found it, thanks!), and quite a few more . That makes me very unusual in both my age group and in my peer group and the social bubbles that I inhabit. Most people I know would laugh if I suggested they read an article/watch a video from them. If I sent them links they’d be either embarrassed or angry. Those who are working haven’t got time for it. Mostly they don’t want to hear a different story. Some have told me how they “unfriend” people who introduce “politics” onto Facebook. But even if they never read anything other than a free newspaper, they see the headlines, in the supermarket, at the petrol station. They listen to the radio, they watch the TV, they absorb the poison, often from something as bland as the Jeremy Vine Show.
The recent election has shown clearly that those alternative voices are shunned by the mainstream media, which remains the prime influencer of the majority of the voting population. Perhaps, in the future, it’ll be different, but it’s the here and now that concerns me.
I am on the Jeremy Vine Show on March 11
In the diary!
In reply to A.Pessimist
‘ I wonder how old you are? ‘
I’m in my early sixties so not that far behind you 🙂 I share your implied exasperation at peoples’ responses to alternative media. My partner used to roll his eyes at my frequent attempts to explain how a news item had been ‘distorted’ – in that I mean to say what particular ‘spin’ had been put upon it and worse, the lies. Even he accused me of being a ‘conspiracy theorist’. However, he did have his eyes opened during this recent GE and was amazed at the negativity of reporting on the Labour Party. All I asked of him was that he keep his eyes and ears open and critique everything he was being told. I wish more would do that. I take your point about the significance of work and how it impacts on one’s ability to seek out alternative perspectives. It is only since I retired that I have really ‘woken up’ to what’s going on. I do think growing numbers of people will ‘catch on’ and it will take time – I don’t know who first said it but I like it – ‘sudden change comes slowly’. Keep the faith. 🙂
Thanks!
The train operating companies such as Northern Rail actually have very few capital assets to be bought. Their main capital expenditure is the cost of their bid, and the bond they have to give the government. They rent the trains, offices, office equipment etc. and take over the existing labour force so little formal training is required. Network Rail owns the track and stations. The only other asset is the contract with the government to run the trains and this asset is lost if it is taken away.
Keep this in mind when the government claim they only make 3% profit which is based on turnover. A better way is return on capital which because the capital is so low is generally very good.
Thanks Ben for this illuminating and insightful post
Well A.Pessimist, I’ll add my h’pennyworth since you’re disappointed by the lack of response to Richard’s main point. The bulk of the UK’s national ‘free press’ is owned by a few right wing billionaires, and, as you say, their output reflects this. A combination of celebrity drivel and anti tax, anti EU, anti regulation, anti BBC climate change denialist propaganda.
So it’s hardly surprising that the Tories get away with things, that, if Labour were to do them, would result in a deluge of criticism, like renationalising a failing franchise, or anti Semitism or ministers having no idea of their brief.
Although I don’t believe that the BBC is pro Tory (unlike far too many on the left who are now colluding with the right’s anti BBC agenda), it has let these papers set the news agenda, to a certain extent at least. And now that the Tories are out to wreck the BBC altogether, and the BBC is having to make cuts to it’s budgets thanks to the cost of free licences to the over 75’s (deliberately dumped on the BBC by the Tories, both to distract blame from themselves and to damage it), there’s less chance than ever that we’re going to get proper news coverage in the UK.
I’d like to think that the internet could rebalance this, but given the use made by the right of this medium for propaganda and political manipulation, and the refusal of companies like FB to police it’s platform for political lying, I’m not sure there’s much hope there either.
So to conclude, I largely agree with you. I think I need to change my username to An Extreme Pessimist.