Outside London £9bn is needed to support bus services, Blundering Boris offers £1.4bn and praises leveling up. Local Councillors express concern.

 

The accusation of the Government double counting grant cash to support bus travel from regional Mayor's and Council leaders across England has brought out how little the current insular Conservative Government and its treasury understands the needs of its population and how many families are now reliant on bus services as transport deprivation widens.

Last year, in a hail of publicity, the Prime Minister published a report on the way forward for the bus transport arm of public transport entitled 'Bus Back Better'. Within it he describes how his faltering and dithering levelling up agenda would run out of the dark and be bathed with glorious sunshine, returning bus services to the level enjoyed prior to 2010 and his former leaders (David Cameron's) push to get the nations workers and pensioners to pay for a world collapse in banking confidence through a programme of intense austerity.

The media praise for 'Austerity' was such a resounding success that the nation has re-elected Conservative Government's on 3 occasions since with the biggest losers being the LibDems who  propped up the Conservatives 'Austerity 1' campaign and were deserted by the public for their huge failure to deliver on their promises.

The current Conservatives are now as always completely reliant on austerity as a way forward as the pandemic losses to business investors and stockbrokers has to be paid back by a nation beginning to see this Government's levelling up agenda for what it is, a replacement for a poorly veiled new-austerity programme. The poverty it is causing those who have already paid back bankers for the last 12 years is beginning to become real, bus cuts being the biggest tangible example that's hitting home following another Jimmy Saville 'fix it' campaign from the nation's Prime Minister.

Local Labour Councillors in Northumberland are extremely concerned regarding cuts to bus services with Lynemouths Liz Dunn and Blyth's Eileen Cartie worried for families they represent.

Councillor Eileen Cartie said: "with fuel sticking at around £7 per gallon and the Government still raking in massive profits from fuel tax even in areas like Blyth where very few services have received subsidies in recent years, bus companies are feeling the pinch and I can't understand why the Leader of Government tells us one thing about investments into regional bus transport and his treasury is allowed to burn his promises in front of his eyes. Families are reliant on buses in this area yet without help from the Government they will become too expensive to use and that will only lead to one end, services being cut."

"In Blyth, bus companies will shortly be invited to provide transport around the town to link up with the reopening rail line as part of an integrated transport system. They will certainly need help to cover off the level of investment needed and with the Treasury fiddling with the levelling up plans where will that investment come from?".

Councillor Liz Dunn from Lynemouth said: "Representing a rural ward the concerns of the residents locally are centred around the potential loss of bus services. Lynemouth ward is home to the second highest number of families in transport deprivation in the County and the reliance on buses is immeasurable in terms of people being socially excluded from wider society in all age groups but youths and the elderly need access to bus services most of all as our villages can't supply all their needs." 

"With poverty and deprivation growing at such a rapid rate and Councils still having to slash budgets to appease a Government hell bent on increasing profits for investors and banks, families in the villages I represent will be financially excluded from social interaction with their neighbours if fare costs don't receive some support this year and I wholeheartedly support our North of Tyne combined authority Mayor, Jamie Driscol in his endeavours to bring these dreadful cuts into the open for all to see."

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/bus-back-better