Toby Perkins, MP for Chesterfield, has called upon the government to act as the cost-of-living sky-rockets for local residents

His words come as Ministers sneaked out the announcement of a brutal 3.8% rail fare hike for millions of passengers just days before Christmas. Since the Conservatives came to power, bus and train fares have twice as fast as pay.

Toby contacted the Transport Secretary last November to warn against public transport rises, particularly given the importance of reducing carbon emissions to hit vital climate change targets. The Minister refused to rule out the rises, outlining that the government were ‘considering a variety of options’.

Families already facing a rocky start to the New Year with fare increases, mounting energy costs and the National Insurance hike arriving in April.

Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh outlined that “Labour would do things differently. It’s not right that costs are not kept low. Prices such as rail fares are in the direct control of government yet they whack them up every year for the millions of people that rely on them. We’d help people now by cutting VAT on household heating bills over winter, we’d freeze business rates, and we wouldn’t be hitting people with a National Insurance rise at the worst possible time”.

Toby stated “Just as residents face rising energy costs and a National Insurance hike, they’re being hit by huge rises in bus and train fares. It’s yet another example of a government which is out of touch and a Prime Minister who is unwilling take action to support the people of this country”.