Blog listing
Stay Updated
Want to hear about our latest news and blogs?
Sign up now to get it straight to your inbox
What’s the faith and belief network?
Trade unions tackle a range of issues. We campaign to change policy and improve life for working people across the country. We represent our members; fight for dignity and respect at work; and we fight against in-work poverty and deprivation. And we play a vital role defending working class communities and strengthening social bonds.
Ferry services are too important to leave to chance
The scandal at P&O ferries makes clear that the industry needs an operator of last resort.
Privatised buses can’t cope with Covid – we need public ownership
The best long-term solution for the bus industry is public ownership.
We can't let the government drag London Transport back to the 70’s
Transport for London (TfL) faces a devasting hole in its budget unless central government provides additional funding.
We need HS2 in its entirety and a proper Northern Powerhouse Rail
The Conservatives have made lots of big promises about rail investment. But they won’t count for much, if the rumours that the eastern leg of HS2 is being cancelled, and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) being scaled back are true.
In the wake of COP26 we need to reverse the decline in bus services
A publicly-owned bus network is an essential step towards cutting carbon emissions.
Changes to the rail industry don't go anywhere near far enough
The Williams review into the Rail industry passes up the chance to make the truly radical changes we need to get the best from our trains.
Fair pay for key workers isn’t just the right thing to do - it’s essential
The Chancellor has threatened a freeze of public sector wages in Wednesday’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR).
The pay freeze for key workers is a bitter pill to swallow
The government’s plans are deeply unfair to key workers who’ve put themselves on the line throughout the pandemic. People we rely on everyday have been told to pay for a crisis they did not cause and have risked their lives to address.
Two things the IFS overlooked about nationalisation
The IFS have crunched the numbers on Labour’s plans for nationalisation. But they have overlooked some key facts about how privatised industries work.
Where are Labour and the Conservatives going on transport?
Both parties are promising to improve our broken transport system, but which manifesto will really deliver for working families?
Job losses at Npower show why we can’t rely on the private sector
Today’s announcement shows yet again why we need public ownership in the energy sector.
Local authorities are facing a £26bn funding gap, and that’s not the worst of it
The money local authorities receive from central government has been slashed by 86% since 2010 - and there's worse to come.
The Franchise system still isn’t working, regardless of who runs the west coast
Yesterday the government announced that Virgin Trains would not run the West Coast mainline for the first time since 1997. A consortium of FirstGroup and Trenitalia (the Italian state rail operator, we have state run rail in the UK, it’s just not our state that runs it) will take over the Franchise in December.
Rail reform - ruling out public ownership a missed opportunity for radical change
We don't think the man tasked with sorting out Britain's failed railways should take public ownership off the table.
The crisis in criminal justice is too acute for the new PM to ignore
The next Prime Minister must tackle the crisis engulfing the Criminal Justice System if it's to survive.
To bring back bus travel, we should learn from the Swiss
Research shows that public transport in general and buses in particular are often seen as the distant second preference to private cars. So, if travellers are choosing other options, why should we worry so much about the bus?
Private prisons are more violent, so why does the MoJ want more of them?
A new report highlights how private companies are failing to provide prisons that are safe and secure.
Government finally admits G4S can't be trusted to run Birmingham prison
Decision to return HMP Birmingham to public control proof that private profit and the criminal justice system don't go together
Interserve shows the Government still haven’t learned the lessons of Carillion
Just over a year since the collapse of Carillion, another outsourcing giant looks set to topple.
A guilty verdict for privatised probation
Today the National Audit Office delivered their verdict on the government's shake up of probation services, and it is not pretty.
Rail franchises are running out of track
Put bluntly, the rail franchise system cannot continue the way it is today.
Austerity won’t be over until…our public services get the funding they need
The Chancellor has his work cut out to show that there’s “light at the end of the tunnel” for our cash-strapped public services
Austerity won’t be over until…public servants get the pay rise they deserve
After eight years of austerity, every public sector worker deserves a decent pay rise - and we won't accept any cherrypicking in next week's Budget
Don’t listen to Branson – VTEC is to blame for the East Coast Mainline fiasco
Franchising has failed – only a publicly funded railway can deliver good service, fair terms and conditions and economic benefits for the whole country
Privatisation fails again as government takes over "crisis" prison
Years of Tory austerity and an obsession with privatisation have led to “appalling” failings at HMP Birmingham
Cancellations, delays, chaos – yet rail fares keep on rising
With rail fare rises outstripping wages yet again, the time has come to return our railways to public ownership
Rat infestations and soaring suicide rates – what’s happened to our prisons under the Tories?
After years of funding cuts, the criminal justice system is on the verge of total collapse
Train chaos is a private, not a public sector failure
As both Northern Trains and Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) experience prolonged meltdown, it's important to remember that this disaster was made in the private sector
Lawyers are revolting against a justice system in crisis
Government plans to change the way barristers and solicitors are paid will make it even harder for ordinary people to get access to justice
A new exhibition makes the case against the Private Finance Initiatives
Private Finance Initiatives have received a bad rap recently. And rightly so.
Nationalising water is affordable, keeping it private might not be
Better to invest in bringing assets into public ownership when we can, rather than have to pay more to bail them out when we must.
What has the Budget done for public sector workers?
With one exception, the chancellor has let public servants down
The Tories are still savaging departmental budgets – and we're all paying the price
We stand to lose a fifth of departmental budgets unless this government reverses course.
Don’t swap a National Network Rail for regional Railtracks
The current rail system has some quirks that even fans of privatisation admit are not ideal. One that has received attention in the past year or so, is the separation between tracks and trains.
