Rachel Reeves to scrap £2 bus fare cap in ‘outright betrayal’ sparking fury amongst MPs

FURIOUS politicians past nighttime railed against plans by Rachel Reeves to scrap the £2 autobus fare cap.

The Chancellor was accused of betraying moving radical and slapping pensioners successful the look arsenic it emerged the headdress won't beryllium renewed erstwhile it expires astatine the extremity of the year.

Tory enactment hopeful Robert Jenrick told The Sun: “If Labour knew what a moving idiosyncratic is they’d cognize that much often than not they drawback the autobus to work.

“They’re hiking fares for moving radical to money wage rises for bid drivers and nonstop overseas assistance to adversaries.

“This authorities is connected the broadside of everyone but our ain people.”

Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride added: “If the Chancellor presses up with this chopped it volition beryllium yet different slap successful the look of our country’s pensioners.

“Labour’s scrapping of Winter Fuel Payments was an outright betrayal of their committedness to support our elderly, and present it looks similar they are gearing up to betray them again by taking distant their autobus £2 headdress - erstwhile again picking the pockets of immoderate of our astir susceptible to substance their profligacy.

“Be successful nary doubt, pensioners volition ne'er forgive Labour for this.”
Analysis for the Department for Transport, revealed by The Times, has recovered that keeping the headdress isn’t financially sustainable for taxpayers oregon autobus companies.

The fare headdress - successful spot crossed England - is acceptable to expire successful December, having been successful spot since January past year.

Ms Reeves has been nether unit to widen it into 2025, with its abolition understood to person sparked a backlash wrong the cabinet.

Worst-hit places could spot fares leap by implicit £10 per journey, with critics saying that scrapping the headdress would thrust radical disconnected public transport.

The Tory argumentation outgo £200 cardinal successful its archetypal 10 months betwixt January and October 2023.

The Whitehall survey recovered that each £1 spent supporting the headdress lone ended successful 71-90p worthy of economical and societal benefits.

This means it is "not financially sustainable" for taxpayers oregon autobus operators investigation for the Department for Transport (DfT) concludes.

But scrapping the strategy astatine Wednesday' "painful" Budget could inactive beryllium toxic to the Treasury.

A survey by pollsters More successful Common recovered that 55 per cent of the nationalist is against the move.

Meanwhile, lone 28 per cent deliberation it’s the close decision.

Policy manager astatine Confederation of Passenger Transport Alison Edwards called the determination "catastrophic for passengers".

Director of Policy and Research astatine the Campaign for Better Transport, Silviya Barrett, said: “Taking the autobus shouldn't beryllium a fiscal load and raising the headdress oregon scrapping it wholly could permission passengers struggling to spend question connected lifeline services.”

It comes aft MP Mike Amesbury had the Labour whip suspended aft a video appeared to amusement him sucker-punching a constituent successful the street.

And Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of lying to voters arsenic it emerged “working people” volition beryllium deed successful adjacent week’s Budget.