Pat Glass MP, Labour’s Shadow Rail Minister, responding to the news that Aslef rail union has voted overwhelmingly for industrial action on Southern in a dispute over Driver Only Operate trains, said:

“The deal reached between Scotrail, the RMT and ASLEF shows that industrial action is avoidable if Southern and the DfT are willing.

“Their focus should be on sorting out the abysmal service passengers on Southern are suffering rather than prolonging an industrial dispute and compromising on passenger safety. 

“Not only is the Secretary of State refusing to strip Southern of their franchise for their incompetence, he is sitting on his hands when he should be intervening to bring this dispute to a close.

“It seems that having an ideological dust up with the rail unions is more important to the Tories than making the trains run on time, and it is passengers who are paying the price with delayed, cancelled and dangerously overcrowded trains.”