The service provided by Southern, the train operator, is “unacceptable”, according to David Cameron at Prime Minister’s Questions today (Wednesday 29 June).
And the company will be required to pay “more generous compensation” to passengers who have suffered delays, with details to be announced soon, he said.
Mr Cameron spoke about the situation in reply to a question from the Conservative MP for Horsham Jeremy Quin who asked: “While media attention seems to be focused elsewhere, all of us in this House have constituents who have problems that need to be addressed.
“For weeks and weeks, my constituents have been struggling with the impact of unofficial industrial action on our railways – not over jobs, not over wages, but over who gets to press a button.
“Will my right honourable friend condemn this in the strongest possible terms and help to resolve those issues?”
Mr Cameron said: “My honourable friend is absolutely right. Our transport infrastructure is a crucial part of our economy.
“I condemn any industrial action that disrupts the travelling public. And rail passengers will not thank the RMT and ASLEF for their recent unnecessary disruption.
“Frankly, the performance of Southern has been unacceptable and passengers deserve better.
“I can tell the House we will be providing more generous compensation to passengers affected by the latest strike and the Transport Secretary will be announcing further details soon.”
What a load of tosh. I commute and I support the unions right to take action. If southern had the right number of staff and didn’t run at maximum capacity so I can’t cope with staff issues, it is a management issue. The PM has just blamed all delays on the Union. I want more compensation for the every day rubbish, delayed, overcrowded service it is. Squeezing on to trains, short notice cancellations, broken trains, half length, what a load of expensive rubbish. Cameron, you are a pranny.