It has taken six weeks, but already the government has lost control of public finances. The decision to award train drivers a pay rise of 15 per cent spread over three years, and backdated, without any requirement to reform outdated working practices, won’t break the government’s piggy bank on its own, but is has set a course which, once again, will end with a Labour government leading the country to fiscal ruin – as every single Labour government has done before.
Public subsidy has corrupted the entire industry
Train drivers are already one of the highest-paid groups of workers in Britain, with basic salaries of £65,000 and with many earning over £100,000. This is not because they are being rewarded for huge commercial success. This is the backdrop to the long-running rail dispute: in 2022/23 the railways earned £9.2 billion from passenger revenue and a further £1.5 billion from other sources such as freight.
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