Priti Patel says she's deeply angry in astonishing attack on ticket office cull

13 September 2023 , 12:31

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Priti Patel says she's deeply angry in astonishing attack on ticket office cull

Former Tory Cabinet Minister Dame Priti Patel has launched an astonishing attack on Government-backed ticket office closures - saying she's "absolutely flabbergasted" by the plans.

Dame Priti piled extra pressure on Rishi Sunak to intervene over plans to cull nearly 1,000 tickets across England, saying she'd been left "frustrated and deeply angry". The ex-Home Secretary said a public consultation had been "sub-optimal" and had "undermined a lot of public confidence". It comes as the Prime Minister faces a growing rebellion within his own party over the unpopular cull.

Dame Priti, who said she uses the ticket office rather than a machine when she commutes from her Essex constituency, told a Westminster Hall debate: "My constituents, rail user groups and myself are absolutely flabbergasted by these proposals. We're frustrated and we're deeply angry. The way the consultation has been handled has been sub-optimal, if I can say so."

Plans to shut nearly 1,000 ticket offices have been met with huge opposition (Philip Coburn /Daily Mirror)

And in a further dig at the Government's handling of the plans she said: "That's undermined a lot of public confidence." The attack came after Conservative backbencher Chris Loder warned that "manipulative apps" mean passengers will end up paying a lot more for journeys. The West Devon MP said that in some parts of the country nearly half of customers still use ticket counters - way more than the 12% rail firms say use them nationally.

And in an unmistakeable sign of Tory disunity, former minister Mark Francois said a whistleblower had rubbished claims the offices are poorly used. Rail Minister Huw Merriman, who was heckled as he addressed the debate, hinted at future climb downs when he said he expected there to be a "differing design" at the end of the process. He said he'd been given reassurances that staff hours wouldn't be cut.

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Outlining his opposition to the cull, which would see 974 ticket counters shut across England, Mr Loder said areas with a higher elderly population - like his own - will see more people using them. He said: "It totally busts the myth that 12% of tickets are sold at all stations. For example, in Barnstable in North Devon 45% of all tickets are sold at the ticket office."

Dame Priti Patel hit out at the controversial cull

He fumed: “This is not reform. This is inequality, not just against those with mobility issues." Mr Loder said it was a "disingenuous veil" to claim staffing levels wouldn't be cut, and warned that passengers could end up paying hundreds of pounds more for journeys through online apps. He told MPs: "The only person that can be trusted to get the cheapest price for a clerk is the ticket office clerk."

Right-winger Mr Francois read out an email from a rail insider, which said: "The ticket offices are used much more than people realise. Although the figures say only 12% of tickets are issued by ticket offices, this is an average. Stations like Billericay are selling more than 500 per shift at weekends."

The MP for Rayleigh and Wickford in Essex said: "People who work for the railways and know the truth agree with everything my honorable friend has just said."

Responding to the barrage of opposition voiced by MPs from all parties, Mr Merriman claimed he doesn't expect the number of hours where "ticketing expertise" is available to be reduced. But, crucially, he told the debate: "I do expect that by the end of the end of the process that there will be a differing design. And I think it is absolutely important that when we talk about redeployment, that means that the volumber of hours is similar to what we have currently."

The Mirror is campaigning against the closures, while 680,000 people responded to a public consultation which closed on September 1.

Elsewhere RMT boss Mick Lynch dismissed a consultation into plans to shut counters as a "controlled show". He told the Commons Transport Select Committee: "We think the whole thing has been a sham designed to be rammed through while people were looking the other way."

The RMT welcomed an emergency motion passed at the TUC, calling for an urgent meeting with the Government to halt proposed ticket office closures.

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Dave Burke