Decision to scrap peak rail fares will be a huge win for Lanarkshire commuters
'Transport must be affordable, accessible and widely available'
The Scottish Government's decision to scrap peak rail fares permanently has been welcomed by Gillian Mackay MSP.
The Lanarkshire-based Scottish Greens MSP says the decision taken by the SNP to take forward her own party's policy and U-turn on peak rail tickets is a huge win for commuters and climate.
The Scottish Greens first secured the pilot project for ending peak rail fares in 2023 while they were in government, but it was dropped by the SNP last year.
Gillian Mackay, the Scottish Greens MSP for Central Scotland Region, said: 'Peak rail fares have always been an unfair tax on workers, students and regular travellers. They penalise people who often have no say on when and where they need to travel.
'It will make a huge difference to people in Lanarkshire, who will save hundreds, if not thousands of pounds per year from peak rail fares being scrapped for good.
'Travel shouldn't cost the earth. Transport must be affordable, accessible and widely available for people and planet. That is why we want Scotland's public transport to be financially and environmentally affordable for everyone.
'By making it easier for people to choose public transport rather than taking the car, we can protect our planet and make our roads and communities cleaner, greener and safer for everyone.'
*Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
12 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Campaigners welcome decision to call in Flamingo Land's controversial Loch Lomond plans after government U-turn
The Scottish Government has called in plans for a major development on the banks of Loch Lomond. Campaigners have welcomed a decision by the Scottish Government to call in Flamingo Land's controversial plans for a £43.5million resort on the banks of Loch Lomond. Yorkshire-based theme park operator Flamingo Land, through its subsidiary Lomond Banks, had proposed to construct two hotels, over 100 lodges, a waterpark and monorail at Balloch. After a long-running battle, initial proposals were shelved in 2019 due to significant local opposition and concerns from bodies such as the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA), the Woodland Trust and the National Trust for Scotland. Subsequent revised plans were unanimously turned down by the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park authority - however, an appeal by Lomond Banks was upheld by a Scottish Government reporter, who imposed 49 conditions on the developer and required them to reach an agreement with the authority before commencing construction. Despite pressure from MSPs, Public Finance Minister Ivan McKee had previously declined to step in regarding the decision to proceed with the plans. But in a statement released on Tuesday evening, he confirmed that the government would now recall the plans. "I have decided to recall the Lomond Banks appeal as the proposed development raises issues of national significance in view of its potential impact on Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park," the minister said. "This means that the appeal should be determined at a national level." Mr McKee had previously mentioned that "technical planning issues" were involved in the application, stating it was right for "objective planning judgment" to be used, hence the Government would not intervene. Following his remarks, a campaign spearheaded by the Scottish Greens saw over 50,000 individuals petitioning him to reconsider. Loch Lomond South Community Development Trust (LLSCDT) welcomed the decision and said it is actively working to shape and promote a "positive, community-ledalternative vision for the area—one that supports sustainable tourism, protects theenvironment, and truly benefits the people who live, work, and visit Loch Lomond". LLSCDT chairwoman, Lynne Somerville said: 'The people who live here must have a real say in the future of this place—not as an afterthought, but as equal partners. "The overwhelming response from the community shows not only opposition to inappropriate development, but also a clear appetite for something better—something rooted in fairness, sustainability, and local benefit. "Under the 2015 Community Empowerment Act, communities like ours are legally entitled to be heard and treated with respect in decisions that affect our land and future. It's time that legislation was meaningfully upheld.' The announcement arrived just a day before Scottish Labour planned to initiate a debate urging Government intervention, with Dumbarton MSP and the party's deputy leader Jackie Baillie suggesting ministers were apprehensive about a potential defeat. "The SNP face a motion tomorrow from Scottish Labour demanding that the application is recalled," she commented. "Thanks to cross party support for our motion, the SNP has U-turned before it was defeated in the chamber." In her statement, Ms Baillie remarked: "This is a welcome U-turn by the SNP, though it shouldn't have taken the fear of a defeat in Parliament to force them to reach this decision. "The SNP has ignored concerns time and time again – from politicians across the chamber and from local campaigners. "It is not right that a single reporter was allowed to overrule the National Park Authority's unanimous decision to reject the bid of the Flamingo Land resort. "This decision requires proper democratic oversight and I'm pleased ministers have finally accepted our calls and agreed to step in." Reacting to the announcement, Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer commended the decision, saying it was the "right move". "The evidence of the damage it would do to one of Scotland's most iconic locations is overwhelming," he added. "Once ministers consider the flood risk, loss of ancient woodland, hundreds of additional cars which would be brought onto notoriously congested roads and the litany of other devastating impacts it would have, I am sure they will reject the mega-resort application and finally end this decade-long saga. "People across Scotland expect their Government to protect our natural heritage. "Given previous mistakes, including the approval of Donald Trump's golf course despite local objections and serious environmental concerns, this is an opportunity for ministers to show that they have learned and will now put people and planet ahead of greedy developers."
Scotsman
20 minutes ago
- Scotsman
SNP's defence policy has the ring of something scrawled on a Fresher's Week beer mat
PA Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A new centre to train welders on the Clyde, in partnership with marine engineers The Malin Group and furnished with £11million-worth of equipment from Rolls Royce. It's the kind of announcement you'd think every government minister wants to make. But last week, it emerged that the SNP government put the whole plan in jeopardy by blocking a £2.5million grant. Why? Because the SNP has a ban on spending public money on munitions. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This policy may seem a little out-of-touch in a world where Russia's guns are currently pounding a European country with millions of artillery shells a year. And in this case, the shells are hypothetical. According to reports, the reason for the ban on the centre is that any welders could build submarines for the Royal Navy. UK Labour's baffled Defence Secretary John Healey told BBC Scotland's Sunday show: "It's the first time I've come across [such a policy] but it really strikes me as student union politics." Not only does the SNP's defence policy have the ring of something scrawled on a Fresher's Week beer mat, but it doesn't even make any sense. The SNP Government owns and funds work at the Ferguson Marine shipyard, which does subcontract work for BAE Systems on the Royal Navy's type 26 frigate programme. It was left to me in Parliament last week to break the news to my SNP colleagues there will be munitions on the frigates. As I asked at the time: 'What does the Government believe that the army, the navy and the air force should defend the country with? Peashooters? Bows and arrows? A telling-off?' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Just to be clear, I don't take the issue of defence lightly. As the MSP representing HM Naval Base Clyde, I have seen countless submariners saying goodbye to their loved ones – and witnessed the relief and joy when they are reunited months later. But the reality is that the world today is a much more dangerous place than it was just a few years ago, and ignoring that reality won't keep us safe. Last year, Armed Forces minister Luke Pollard confirmed that an incident in 2022 , where Shetland's undersea cable delivering internet and telephone services was cut, was almost certainly an act of Russian sabotage. In November, fighter jets from RAF Lossiemouth were scrambled to intercept a Russian military aircraft over the North Sea. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad And only a few weeks ago, a Russian spyship was spotted lingering near the coast of the Outer Hebrides . As Keir Starmer put it when he visited BAE Systems in Glasgow earlier this month, spending on defence is about making the country 'an armour-clad nation with the strongest alliances and the most advanced capabilities equipped for the decades to come'. The Defence Review the UK Labour government commissioned tackles everything from cyber attacks to artificial intelligence. It includes plans for a hybrid navy with a new fleet of submarines and autonomous vessels patrolling the North Atlantic. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Scotsman
20 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Reform and SNP are two sides of the same coin
PA Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Like most political animals, I have always enjoyed the drama of by-elections. Whilst seldom making a difference to who actually governs us in the short-term, they can be clear indicators of the mood music amongst the public towards parties vying for power, particularly when the next national election is not so far away. That said, I didn't stay up for the result in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election last week, not expecting much in the way of drama. My expectation was that there would be a fairly comfortable SNP victory, with the only real interest being whether Reform would finish third or manage to beat Labour into second place. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad I woke up in the morning to a WhatsApp message from a colleague expressing surprise at the outcome, and when I checked the numbers I had to share that sentiment. Few saw the Labour candidate Davy Russell's victory coming, and it is all the more to his credit, and that of his campaign team, that they were able to pull off a quite dramatic victory against the odds. So congratulations are due first of all to Labour in delivering a result which undoubtedly is a boost to Anas Sarwar. Having been written off by the pundits, and with a candidate widely ridiculed for his refusal to participate in TV debates, it demonstrated the importance of a strong, local narrative in winning votes. The Scottish Conservatives had an equally strong local candidate in Cllr Richard Nelson from Larkhall who fought an energetic campaign albeit one we knew never had any realistic prospect of victory. Fourth place was always the best place we could hope for in this seat, as our voters were squeezed to vote tactically either for Labour or for Reform to beat the SNP. On the doorstep we met loyal Conservative voters who told us that they would be using this by-election to 'send a message' to the SNP by voting tactically for whoever they thought was best placed to defeat them, but at next year's Holyrood election would be back voting for us again. That said, we know there is work to be done in presenting a compelling message to maximise our vote for Holyrood in 2026. The real losers on the night were, of course, the SNP. All the polls suggested that this is a seat that they would hold, and the party poured in resources, with numerous visits by leadership figures from the First Minister John Swinney downwards. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The SNP strategy appeared politically clever, if essentially dishonest, in attempting to portray the contest as a two-horse race between them and Reform. This was designed to squeeze Labour voters, in particular, into voting SNP as the lesser of two evils. It backfired spectacularly. The Reform vote was indeed substantial, but if we analyse the figures, it seems that Reform's gains were not so much at the expense of Labour, or even the Conservatives. The 26 per cent of the vote achieved by Reform, at a time when Labour's vote share hardly moved, can only be explained by looking at the 17 per cent drop in the SNP vote. There was a direct transfer from one party to another. Perhaps this should not surprise us. Both SNP and Reform are essentially parties of protest, who have spent years pointing the blame elsewhere for the country's troubles – in the case of Reform, to the EU and immigrants, and in the case of the SNP, to Westminster governments. I can well remember at a previous election meeting on a doorstep in Perthshire one voter who we had previously identified as a regular Conservative supporter, who came out red-faced and angry to lambast me for the failings of the Tory government. 'You've let me down', he shouted, 'letting far too many immigrants in. That's it, I've had it with you lot. From now on I'm voting SNP'. It was an encounter indicative of a particular type of individual who rages at the world around them. These will be some of the people who were motivated to vote for independence in 2014 on the basis that anything must be better than what we currently have. And it will be some of the same people who were amongst the 2 in 5 Scots who voted for Brexit in 2016. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad For years the SNP have played the part of a populist party, simultaneously in government and in opposition, blaming all Scotland's ills not on their own failings but on big, bad Westminster. Now we have the new entrants on the scene in Reform, singing a different song to the same tune. To change the metaphor, the two Parties are essentially opposite sides of the same coin. They are parties who seek not to find solutions to the complex issues that face our country, but rather resort to simplistic slogans appealing to the basest level. Little wonder, then, that voters have little difficulty in switching between the two. Swinney's claim that Reform's values are antithetical to Scotland now look ridiculous, when his Party was not only defeated in Hamilton, but finished a mere 869 votes ahead of Farage's. Scottish exceptionalism has never had such a rude awakening. Over the last 18 years, the SNP have demonstrated how far populist politics can take you. Now, the rise of Reform shows they have a significant competitor for that segment of the population who are content to blame others for the country's woes. Fortunately, there is an alternative: the serious parties prepared to do the heavy lifting in proposing credible solutions to fix the problems in our society.
