Majority of UK public favours renationalisation of railways: poll
14 Sep 2009
Most people in the UK are in favour of renationalisation of the railways and only 23 per cent support retaining private ownership, results of a survey showed.
A survey of more than 1,000 people conducted at the instance of the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union found seven out of 10 people questioned supported renationalisation.
The state of the railways will be a subject of debate at the Trades Union Congress (TUC) conference in Liverpool later this week at which the RMT is expected to issue a call in support of full rail renationalisation.
According to RMT general secretary Bob Crow, the poll showed the government is out of sync with voters regarding the ownership of the rail network.
He said the Labour party needed to make a bold statement about the public ownership of the railways if the party was serious about re-engaging with their core supporters.
Meanwhile, the RMT will be calling for full support for the renationalisation of the railways and the London Underground at the TUC congress.
