LABOUR'S shadow transport secretary would be “happy” to work with the SNP to get rail services like ScotRail brought back into public ownership.
Andy McDonald, Jeremy Corbyn’s transport lead at Westminster, said the SNP Government should exploit the powers Holyrood has to renationalise Scotland's trains.
The intervention came after former transport minister Alex Neil said the Scottish Government could renationalise rail services by “replicating the Scottish Water model” in a move he claimed would result in ScotRail being publicly owned but “firmly supervised” by an independent regulator.
However, McDonald said the Scottish Government should “not shy away” from seeking to use its existing powers on rail, as he added to the pressure on Scottish ministers to act, with UK Labour's offer to cooperate with the SNP on the issue.
The shadow cabinet minister's remarks came as Scotland's transport Minister Humza Yousaf has said he will not quit amid growing criticism of the country's rail service. Train drivers union Aslef called for him to be sacked following widespread disruption across the network on Thursday.
McDonald added his voice to calls on the SNP to abandon what critics have said is a "timid" position over a commitment to renationalise Scotland's railways.
Scottish ministers have suggested that Holyrood does not hold enough powers to do it. The Government also controversially handed Dutch rail operator Abellio a contract to run ScotRail services.
McDonald, who is the Labour MP for Middlesbrough in North East England, backed the calls of unions such as the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association for the Scottish Government to test the extent of its powers over rail nationalisation.
He said: "The Labour Party is committed to bringing back rail into public ownership and that policy, which is clearly the right one for the UK at a time of rising fares and deteriorating services, will continue.
"A publicly-owned railway would be a good deal more cost effective then the failed model we currently have.
"The issue is not the sole preserve of Labour party members and the more people can be brought together on this the better."
McDonald added: "It's for the SNP to explain, but the issue of why the SNP is not exploiting the power they've got over rail is a charge that's often laid against them. But I for one would be very happy to work with the SNP on this issue if we can find a commonality of purpose.
"It seems that perhaps the Scottish Government has a good opportunity to explore how it could use its powers to bring rail services in Scotland into public ownership. It's something they shouldn't shy away from."
The Sunday Herald previously reported that the model ministers are understood to have in mind for rail renationalisation is based on CalMac Ferries Ltd (CFL), which describes itself as a “wholly-owned subsidiary of David MacBrayne Ltd, which is wholly owned by Scottish Ministers”.
However, transport minister Yousaf, responding to McDonald, restated the SNP Government's commitment to ensure that a public sector body is in a position to bid for Scotland's next rail franchise.
He said: “This SNP government secured the right for a public sector operator to bid for the franchise at the next opportunity after being repeatedly denied that right by successive Labour and Tory Governments and we are already delivering on our very clear commitment to ensure there can be a public sector bid for future rail franchises.
“Work to deliver that public sector bid is already under way and I will work with anyone who is serious about improving rail services, rather than simply playing political games.
“Right now our priority is making sure commuters get the standard of service they have the right to expect which is why we are monitoring Scotrail’s performance on a daily basis and have ordered them to carry out an improvement plan, so that passengers benefit from a record-breaking investment programme in new, longer trains, delivering faster journey times, improved passenger comfort, and many more carriages.
"We must also support frontline staff who are working hard on a daily basis to support passengers and improve journeys.”
Charlotte Twyning, director of policy, strategy and communications for Abellio UK, in response, said: "We are completely committed to the ScotRail franchise and are working closely with our clients, Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government, to improve the service to passengers during one of the most significant periods of investment ever undertaken on Scotland's railway."
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