Friday, June 27, 2008

The People's Rail

Today the Co-operative Party launched its new campaign, the People's Rail. The campaign aims to give the British public real power over its rail network, through co-operative structures. Long-suffering rail users deserve better than a network run for the convenience of managers, with no one taking responsibility when things go wrong. We call on Network Rail to change the way it's run, to give real control to passengers and the public.

Launching the campaign, Sarah McCarthy-Fry MP, Chair of the Co-operative Party group of MPs said:

"Recent events have led many to doubt whether the governance of Network Rail is as strong as it should be. At a time when we may have expected the management to be under serious pressure after their failure over the New Year, the Board’s response has been to reward them with massive bonuses.

"As a Labour and Co-operative MP, I know only too well the benefits that consumer ownership can bring. Through making organisations accountable to their users and other stakeholders, it has been demonstrated that we can not only strengthen citizenship, but also build services based on the needs of the people that they serve."

You can play your part. Visit our campaign website www.peoplesrail.org.uk to send your message of support. You can download the document, find images for your website and tell your friends. Look out for events in your area for the campaign and let us know if you have any ideas to keep the pressure on Network Rail.

Join the campaign on Facebook.

Annual Conference 2008
We will hold our annual conference on 11, 12 and 13 September at Westminster Central Hall, London.

The main theme of the conference is ‘Consumer with attitude’, and we will try to address the issues of consumer rights, power and responsibilities. We will also look at the concept of ethical consumerism, its costs and rewards. Like last year, the first day of Conference will be open to the public and we really want to see as many members as possible take part to the panel discussions that will take place from 12 noon on Thursday 11 September. Speakers on that day include Ed Miliband MP, Ed Balls MP, Hilary Benn MP and many others!

We will publish more details on our website starting 30 June, and will keep you updated on events and speakers as they get confirmed. To register for the event (access is free but registration is requested), or to receive more details as they become available, email conference@party.coop.

1 comment:

scouseboy said...

I think they should be the peoples buses as well (although I am a convenience car owner- (put in £20 today got 3 1/2 gallons!!!)
We need to get back to a real reliable and cheap intergated transport system, run for
the needs of the people, under local control.