West Lothian Council SNP group hit back over ‘middle class rail …

The SNP opposition on West Lothian^[1] Council branded a Labour councillor’s remark about middle class rail users a “crass insult to thousands.”

Robert De Bold, the party group depute leader criticised Councillor Andrew McGuire during yesterday’s debate on funding for bus services, and he followed it up later by producing figures which showed West Lothian people made more than two million rail journeys in a year .

However Councillor McGuire branded his remarks as “tongue in cheek", and defended his criticism of “a political choice" made by the SNP.

Councillor De Bold told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “The Labour councillor’s criticism that the Scottish Government ‘instead chooses to subsidise middle class rail users so that they don’t need to pay peak fares’ is a crass insult to the thousands of ordinary working people who take the train to work.

“According to the Office for Rail and Road, Armadale^[3] Station in Cllr McGuire’s ward is used by 134,000 passengers per year; the other stations in West Lothian carry 2.3 million passengers per year.

“I doubt they would appreciate being labelled in this manner during a cost of living crisis. Instead, the SNP Government has taken ScotRail back into public ownership and rail users are now seeing the direct benefit of that.”

At Tuesday’s Executive Councillor McGuire pointed to the Scottish Government’s recent decision to end peak rail fares for a six month trial comparing it with the lack of investment in the commercial bus network since it was deregulated in the 1980s

Speaking during a debate on the potential subsidising of routes to villages in his ward which face being cut off from the bus network in December, Councillor McGuire told fellow councillors: “The Scottish Government has ignored the most basic and fundamental form of public transport. The bus network subsidy has not increased since 2012 and the commercial bus network and communities are crying out for support, yet the Scottish Government subsidises middle class rail users."

That earned a, good natured, rebuke from Lib Dem councillor Sally Pattle, who reminded him that public transport was “for everyone”. And a more serious one from Councillor De Bold.

Councillor De Bold told the LDRS later: “West Lothian Labour must clarify whether they support Cllr McGuire’s opposition to the scrapping of peak fares for rail users. They need to come clean and clarify which of those comments they support.”

Councillor McGuire responded: “It is a fact that owing to the geography of rail stations in West Lothian and beyond that trains are used predominantly for commuting to better paid jobs in Edinburgh and Glasgow, or for social purposes.

“The recent decision by the Scottish Government to subsidise rail fares to eradicate peak fares was a political choice and while this has to be welcomed for some I believe the money used for this scheme could have been better spent supporting the bus industry across Scotland which has been starved of public funds for many years.

"Buses allow communities to be better connected and provide vital lifelines for people who don't drive or live near train stations to be able to access medical appointments, visit family and attend to everyday chores."

The busiest stations in the in terms of entrance and exit between 2021 and 2022 were: Livingston^[4] North, in Councillor De Bold’s ward, with 610,928, followed by Bathgate^[5] (600,474) and Linlithgow^[6] (518,806).

In councillor McGuire’s Armadale and Blackridge ward the figures showed 134,362 in Armadale and 27,086 at Blackridge.

The least number of exits and entrances were at Breich^[7] station on the southern railway line which connects Glasgow and Edinburgh which also takes in Livingston^[8] South and Kirknewton^[9] stations.

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References

1. ^{^} West Lothian (www.edinburghlive.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Good news for some, but not all who rely on buses in West Lothian (www.edinburghlive.co.uk)
3. ^{^} Armadale (www.edinburghlive.co.uk)
4. ^{^} Livingston (www.edinburghlive.co.uk)
5. ^{^} Bathgate (www.edinburghlive.co.uk)
6. ^{^} Linlithgow (www.edinburghlive.co.uk)
7. ^{^} Breich (www.edinburghlive.co.uk)
8. ^{^} Livingston (www.edinburghlive.co.uk)
9. ^{^} Kirknewton (www.edinburghlive.co.uk)
10. ^{^} Edinburgh Live (data.reachplc.com)