Quote Originally Posted by JamesWales View Post
Sorry, but there's a lot of populist left-wing tropes and inaccuracies here.

1 / The wrong side of history comment is a reference to the fact that train use has fallen off a cliff (due to covid) and will in all probability never be the same again. If people want to work from home more, the result is a declining public transport. It's one of the reasons I caution against WFH.

2 / Of course, inflation always occurs, normally at a far lower level than now however.

3 / The wealth gap depends on how you look at it, but the average wage and personal tax allowance has risen far quicker under the current administration than the last one. The top rate of tax is also higher (45% v 40%) which rather undermines your party political point about the Tories wanting the gap to grow etc. That said, the pandemic and WFH is exacerbating the wealth gap considerably.

4 / Pay shouldn't be in line with inflation, it should ideally be above it. But sometimes inflation spikes, typically due to wars or other 'acts of god' and when it's caused by that its sometimes the case that we need to ride it out. Countering it with 10% pay rises across the board will probably exacerbate the problem.

5 / I agree, Mick Lynch is impressive, as was Bob Crow, but he has a job to try and protect his members, the govt' has to try and protect the entire country, and the two don't always align. Re Brexit - the RMT were prominent leave campaigners.

6 / Network Rail is publicly owned - what they make in profit goes back into the railways. The dispute is with Train operators.

Happy to be corrected on any of that. The reality, unfortunately is that very very little of the current inflation rate is caused by UK based policy decisions and thus much of it cannot be solved in that way. Political opponents will exploit the situation, but if you want the problem solved, you have to diagnose it properly. Inflation is happening near everywhere, so clearly it isn't caused by the Tories.

Maybe the union will win. Maybe it won't, but giving the country a 10% pay rise to solve a temporary spike in inflation is not the answer, unfortunately. I wish it was, but it isn't.
We are told to not ask for more pay, while Boris is going to remove caps on the banker's bonuses.

We all need to "suck it up", while MPs pay has increased by 20% in the last 10 years. Network Rail and rail executives take home millions. Most of the train companies make millions, and they are all privately owned.

Re wealth inequality: https://www.ft.com/content/d52743ca-...f-8281230a21b5
That's the FT, not some left wing rag.

UK inflation rates have been 2.5%, 2.3%, 1.74%, 0.99% and now 10% plus. The train staff have had a 0% increase in this time. They're also threatened with fire and rehire. If NR are publicly owned, and make 500m profit, surely they can pay their staff a decent wage?

The Tories are happy to give 11bn and plus to their mates. They've wasted billions more on mismanagement. Rishi Sunak is absolute as useful as a chocolate fire guard when it comes to the finances of this country. They have done nothing to help the economy, only feed off it like vultures. Which is Sunak's MO. That's how he made his money in the first place.

if anyone votes Tory in 2024, they need their heads checking or they're filthy rich. And by the way, DML is on your side.