The last Labour government nationalised Network Rail, putting the state in charge of tracks, signals and stations. Well over half the cancellations and delays experienced by passengers in recent years have come from problems at Network Rail. Damaged track, track repairs, signal failures, prolonged maintenance have all hit service reliability and punctuality.
We also have experience of lines where the state has been running the trains over the nationalised track. There is no sign of these fully nationalised groups doing better on punctuality and service reliability, with some doing worse than the hybrids.
In recent years the train operating companies have been put under more and more state control, limiting private sector managements from innovating or managing better. The timetables are state controlled, dictating what services to run, and many fares are controlled.
When we last had a chance to compare a fully nationalised railway with a privatised one during privatisation in the 1990 s the privatised railway did a better job, reversing passenger number decline and improving service quality. When John Prescott took over as Minister he in 2000 announced a 17 % rise in passengers and 22% rise in freight since 1997 for the privatised railway .
It looks as if the fully nationalised railway if this government will develop more of the bad characteristics of the largely nationalised system they inherited. Expect more losses, more service cuts to try to rein in costs, more delays and cancellations. Two years in and still no revised business plan to tackle extreme delays and financial overruns at fully nationalised HS 2. If they cannot even manage a railway with no passengers and no trains yet, what chance of running an existing railway with staff problems and unhappy passengers?
June 1, 2026
I am sorry but rail privatisation was a complete disaster. I have been an industry observer for 55 years and BR up to the 1990’s knocked spots off anything since. All we will end up with in GBR is a state owned privatised mess, public in name only. I’m afraid we’ve all been taken for a ride.. since 1994/5. Pun intended.
Reply We will end up with a nationalised very expensive mess. Old nationalised rail post war spent most of its time slashing services, closing track and stations and making staff redundant.
June 1, 2026
AJ,
Agreed. Commuting into The City over decades, we got :-
a reduction in the number of trains per hour,
an earlier last train,
the disappearance of waiting rooms and station toilets,
along with the disappearance of a station master.
Replacement buses at the weekends became a regular feature. It was less expensive for train operators.
Fares soared in price.
The only improvement was the eventual replacement of cramped slam door trains.
June 1, 2026
AJ,
Safety on the railways collapsed. Hatfield caused the maintenance to be brought back under public ownership to ensure it was done properly.
I remember frantically phoning around after the Clapham disaster to ensure family members were not victims.
Reply Similar accident rate nationalised and privatised
June 1, 2026
‘ Similar accident rate nationalised and privatised’
Privatisation destroyed the culture of the railwayman. I know many former railmen and they were passionate and obsessive about their jobs. They still are, though they are long retired.
When rail safety was subcontracted out to various companies we lost the proper way of working on rail. Chancers took over, looking to cut costs and failing to ensure the job was done properly.
Training was poor and the continuity of service of nationalised rail disappeared.
We have constant problems with signalling which has now spread to the Tube system. I don’t believe they know what they are doing. Worse still, those in charge don’t really care.
I now have to check the internet before embarking on a journey. A recent service from Birmingham New Street to London was cancelled. I got home on a different service that stopped at every hole in the hedge and took much longer. Arriva had to refund me the full cost of the ticket. I only got notification of the issue, via email, shortly before I was due to board the cancelled service.
Reply The tube. was never privatised
June 1, 2026
It was actually Avanti West Coast from Birmingham not Arriva. Difficult to keep abreast of all franchise names across the country.
With regard to The Tube, I googled :-
‘Signalling issues on the Wimbledon branch of the District Line are driven by outdated infrastructure, specifically on the shared track sections managed by Network Rail between Wimbledon and East Putney. This legacy system results in chronic track circuit failures and frequent disruptions.‘
Waterloo trains late at night sometimes venture past Tube stations en route to Wimbledon.
June 1, 2026
The state sector can not even release the right people from jail or give people timely driving tests, conduct a fair trial and appeal system for Lucy Letby, the Post office wrongly convicted or answer to HMRC phone lines (unless you are an MP, royalty or a trans person it seems). Once I held for nearly an hour and then it told me to call back later and just hung up on me. Not at all good for my blood pressure.
So why do you think they will cope well with train safety issues?
June 1, 2026
In the event of a collision, passenger seats facing the rear of the train tend to be safer than those front-facing, as the bodies are forced into a cushioned shape, rather like the reverse of having a seat belt. Front-facing passengers may reduce some of the risk if they put their feet on the front of the seat they face at the key moment and use their knees as a reactive spring. It does not prevent a disaster, but might reduce or avoid some bodily damage.
On return journeys, some trains do not turn round, but are then pulled by an engine at the opposite end. It may seem anti-social, but if all seats pivoted round at the end of each journey to face the rear opposite of the train direction, safety might gain.
June 1, 2026
I have to say you are wrong.
I trained in the nationalised rail industry and it suffered from dead man shoes career progression, restrictive practices, under investment, the dead hand of the Treasury and a ‘can’t do’ mentality.
The privatised TOC’s and Rolling Stock companies invested in new equipment sourcing it cost effectively from suppliers outside the factories owned by British Rail creating competition and better stock.
The TOC’s improved service levels and increased passenger numbers. The West Coast services actually became a pleasure under Virgin.
Latterly we have had more control by the DoT through the contract renewal process setting ever more detailed contractual obligations and regulations.
Like many so-called privatised industries the State has tightened it’s control through the Industry Regulators and stifled innovation and development.
The Civil Servants have been retrieving control for the last 30 years.
June 1, 2026
It was indeed privatised badly, but as I say the government cannot run things efficiently nor can they privatise things efficiently. Most trains services can only exists due to the 50% of ticket price subsidy for rail and the circa 100% tax on cars and vans. So inevitably the state remains in control of this subsidy market rigging. A hugely rigged market with unfair competition just as we have for schools, universities, health care, energy, banking, pensions… stop rigging these market let’s have free & fair competition please.
June 1, 2026
The Swiss probably have best rail in world (I know each country has different problems to deal with regarding rail but I’m talking about overall).
And customers in Switzerland have to pay for it (also partially funded by government for sure but passengers still have to cough up for it with hefty train-ticket prices).
So I think we should be looking at the Swiss model (and other models).
Personally, I think government should initiate investment in an amazing (private-public – but mainly private investment) rail service from London to Cambridge (with fast, state-of-the-art, iconic-looking double decker trains, with amazing destination-Cambridge train station and platform in London and underground some of the way – so as to help turn Cambridge area into second Silcon Valley (and help Stanstead airport). And to upgrade the Waterloo service to Bristol (it’s a bit like train travel in India but without the fun).
There simply isn’t enough money to upgrade service elsewhere. And passengers far less likely to pay higher train tickets for better service.
But NOT high speed rail.
HS2 what a complete waste of money. Unbelievable.
Lastly, HS2 is government-funded I believe (?) – what a joke! If it had been mainly private money, then private money would ensure it would be built much cheaper. But then what private investor would want to invest a tonne of money to Birmingham (no offence to Birm but HS2 not worth 100 Billion to Birm – crazy).
June 1, 2026
@Andrew Jones, @Peter & @Reply – privatisation with the Taxpayer funding and Government & Parliament the ones steeling the money from the taxpayer denying responsibility while handing over someone else’s hard earned cash. That highlights the problem it was ‘in-name-only’.
As always because they don’t ‘get it’ Government & Parliament failed. It failed because they haven’t the slightest inclination of what business is and what causes it.
Parliament is a protected ‘Cabal’ of egotistical ideologues
June 2, 2026
Switzerland has had a mostly publicly-owned rail network since 1902. It did not suffer a Beeching. As far as I know, it’s one of the few systems that still meets the punctuality and reliability levels it achieved 30-40 years ago. (The German system does not!)
Perhaps someone should study why and how it still attains its enviable record. Could some of that be emulated here?
FWIW, I’m not that keen on publicly owned airlines. They’re not a natural monopoly. Do what empiricaly works.
June 1, 2026
Indeed, I often catch trains when I fly to the UK Gatwick, London, Birmingham, Kent, Cambridge typically. They typically cost about £1 a mile. My old diesel car can carry up to seven people for about 40p a mile it also goes door to door is far better for the luggage and can take more direct routes without the end taxi connections. Furthermore about 50% of the 40p is tax. Trains have virtually no fuel taxes nor vat and about 50% of this £1 per mile is subsidy already. Yet still they can cost 10 plus times more if four in the car. So without the tax and subsidy rigging they are already about 40 times more per passenger mile. Assuming 4 in the car.
Yet government pretend public transport is so much more efficient (and this does not even allow for indirect train journeys or the end connections needed.
When self driving cars and far cheaper self driving taxis arrive trains will be even less competitive. The government are hopeless at running things but rather hopeless at subcontracting thing too. Not their money they are wasting so what do they care?
Please can the government stop blocking the roads and fix the potholes. If trains were not subsidised and car were not over taxed what would the real demand for trains be perhaps 30% of current demand and then when the driverless taxis arrive!
June 1, 2026
In order to give balance to this debate, I will, unusually, offer a good experience on new GBR. Over the weekend I had an urgent need to travel from Devon to Yorkshire. I was concerned. I checked to ticket options and tried the Split Ticket option. I did a 300 odd mile journey for £73- ON TIME and in reasonable comfort, including on train refreshment. The train was busy in parts, families going to events, lads going to footy games, and senior folk on local journeys, all well behaved. It gave me hope.
June 1, 2026
Yes but why should you have to muck about wasting time with split ticket options and trying to work out the ticket validity or risk fines. Last time I went from Birmingham airport to Cambridge I ended up going via London and doubling the total distance travelled as this was the fasted option! Hardly very energy efficient to double the distance travelled. Both trains were fairly unoccupied too.
June 1, 2026
@Lifelogic – its called disillusion. A Parliament that cant run itself responsibly cant be expected to know how to run industry
June 1, 2026
The government claim that train journeys cause far less CO2 than cars and that bike and walking cause no CO2 direct or indirect per mile both statement are drivel when properly accounted for track, staff, end connections, ticketing, indirect routes, transport police..
June 1, 2026
Rail travel accounts for just 2% of all trips in the UK, but makes up roughly 8% of the total distance travelled. By comparison, cars are the dominant mode of transportation, accounting for around 59% of all journeys and 76% of total miles.
Without the vast subsidies for trains and the over taxation of car and trucks then trains would be an even lower %. self driving taxis and car will make this even lower still.
June 1, 2026
Another bad decision by this government based purely on ideology, with no logic applied and no economic case that I’ve seen.
On top of that it was reported that due to this nationalisation hundreds of trains will be cancelled!
They expect to see the alleged profit that train companies were making come back into the Treasury, but lo and behold it won’t work that way – It’s certain that HMG will run the railways at a loss, which will in turn reduce capacity and effectiveness. It won’t be long before the railways hit the buffer.
June 1, 2026
About half of train tickets are tax payer subsidy already and virtually no taxes on trains fuel or VAT either. Cars however have circa 100% fuel tax, road tax, vat, un repaired pot holes damage costs (plus VAT) insurance tax 12%, camera mugging taxes, parking taxes, 23 in a 20 zone speeding taxes then points and more insurance costs and IPT, …
Note too that insurance costs are hugely elevated as we all have to cover the uninsured and also by people running expensive cars like EVs or other expensive cars. Why should I in my four cars worth about £3k each have to pay higher insurance due to people like footballers who waste say £200k+ on their cars or those who do not bother to insure at all?
June 1, 2026
When I was in the Royal Navy the old joke was that the Navy would run better without ships. It seems socialist governments take this seriously and to extremes.
It is interesting to Google in which countries railways run at a profit. Very few:
Japan and Hong Kong: Core rail operations for private operators are profitable – rail + Property model in which real estate supports the railways.
United States & Canada: only freight is profitable.
China: Only a small fraction of routes, such as the prominent Beijing-Shanghai line, generate consistent profits.
Europe: none.
Perhaps the inability to run a railway profitably is just an endemic condition of mature Western Civilisation.
June 1, 2026
The NHS seem to think patients are a nuisance too so they deter them or delay them as far as they can!
The Royal Navy has 63 commissioned ships, including submarines and auxiliary vessels (most probably broken or out of action for repair/maint) and about 40 Admirals. Without the ships they could afford so many more Admirals and pay them even better! I assume this is the management thought process!
June 2, 2026
Exactly, well said.
Getting overly focused on railways is a waste of time.
We should just accept it’s a problem for everyone – for the Japanese, Germans, Swiss, Canadians, Americans etc
And focus our energy more on where we can make much more a positive impact on the economy i.e. helping to develop the UK’s high tech industry more and more.
June 1, 2026
Very simple, the train is an expensive way to travel, when compared to the car, especially if there is more than one person travelling,
Add on the door to station, station to door (Bus orTaxi journey and luggage) and time, energy, and inconvenience needs to be added.
Trains and buses are perhaps also carry the risk of being a breeding ground for coughs, colds and any other virus, given you are in a sealed tube with only air-conditioning and questionable filtering.
The only benefit, you can read/work or look out of the window when travelling (if you can get a seat)
June 1, 2026
Exactly and that reading working benefit will go with self driving cars!
Ofem a sealed carriage, poorly cleaned and with duff air con and windows that can nowadays not even be opened. Plus a loo that is often out of order for good measure often not at the stations either! No restaurant cars either anymore so not even a decent bacon sandwich or a beer to console you!
June 1, 2026
Expensive and very inflexible and often totally impractical especially esp. at off peak hours. How do you get back from someone’s dinner party in a little village at midnight to your house in another village 20 miles away? Or set off at say 4.30 to get somewhere for a business meeting at 9.00 am perhaps carrying tools.
June 1, 2026
@Berkshire Alan – I live in Wokingham, a hose in the street has come up for sale. The Estate Agents pitch is that the house has ‘easy’ access to the Elizabeth Line for the commute to London. Ignoring Wokingham exists. As deluded as Government & Parliament. If you get on at Twyford you have to first get there. If the Reading route is chosen you need a train to take you from Wokingham to Reading. Yet travelling, the other way to Waterloo the route to the ‘City’ takes considerable less time. A weird promotion the, benefit of the Elizabeth Line. Even if you were in Reading it would be quicker to get on a normal train to Paddington and the pick up the Elizabeth Line if that’s what is needed.
A bit like HS2 London to Birmingham that due to speed restrictions on the brand new line will save 10 mins, that’s if you don’t count getting to Old Oak first.
650MPS in Parliament all with the responsibility to ensure their electorate is properly represented and receives fair value from the money taken from them?
June 2, 2026
Ian B
Agreed, Elizabethan line is good “from Twyford”, but as you say no real or sensible public transport to Twyford from Wokingham, and the small Station car park is full by 07.30 hence the chaos being caused by more and more people parking in the streets of Twyford within a mile of the Station.
June 1, 2026
There are already massive subsidies for train operating companies and little of the competition that drives improvement on the railways.
Why do you think nationalisation will cost more than running the same train by a private company? The unions are already entrenched.
Rail privatisation seems to be the worst of all worlds, happy to be convinced otherwise.
June 1, 2026
When rail privatisation was first announced many even pro-privatisation commentators thought it a privatisation too far. Also many continental European countries seem to operate successful publicly owned railways at low cost to users – Portugal in particular, and Italy spring to mind.
June 1, 2026
If we are to continue subsidising the railways to the tune of about £300 per person per year, can we at least all have some free tickets for our investment?
Keep the railways privatised, but let the ownership transfer to the passengers and staff. Then the people that run and use the trains can be responsible for their upkeep. Rail regulator in place to ensure fair rules at the boundaries.
June 1, 2026
When will there be a program to introduce driverless trains?
Why is it not possible for GBR to own the system and set the basic parameters re pricing and (integrated) timetables etc. and then the running the service, or services if it is broken down by region, is put out to tender to obtain the lowest bids rather than as we have had, the highest bids?
June 1, 2026
This Government can’t run itself let alone a railway, or steel works.
These high employment businesses should be left in the hands of private enterprise to manage them.
HS2 is a prime example of inability of Governments [Conservative and Labour] to manage a project on time and budget and politicians should have seen many years ago, as a lot of us did, that this was a vanity project destined to fail.Billions of taxpayers £’s wasted in order to cut journey times between the north and south by 40 minutes.
June 1, 2026
Safety standards and profit need to pull in opposite directions to ensure operators aren’t reckless to the point of risking lives. Beyond that, a private operator would be responsible to ensure the trains ran efficiently and attracted many passengers, making as much money as they could. Nationalisation props up waste and incompetence at great expense and should be kept way out of the way.
June 1, 2026
Whenever I have had a train delayed it is always Network Rail that has been the problem.
June 1, 2026
No way can this country afford nationalised railway. Crazy.
The Swiss have great railway but you have to pay hefty prices for your rail tickets. Go figure.
But I do think serious government investment is needed from Waterloo to Bristol. It’s like travelling in India without the fun. This is such a vital commuter train but also for other travellers. Increase ticket prices if needed as long as there is a service to match (there isn’t at moment – it’s appalling).
And ensure the service to Cambridge is top notch so as to help turn Cambridge area more and more into world’s second Silicon Valley (with fast, iconic, beautiful, double deckers and amazing destination station at Cambridge and platform from London).
Other than that, not a lot government can do about trains. Other important things to sort out first.
HS2 (government funded I believe) – what a complete waste of money. Joke.
June 1, 2026
I am with you, in that having the State run anything is dogged with failure. It has also to be recognised that the way some things were privatised they were also a big fail. I get the need to off load liability from the State, but that is where the contradictions come back to bite.
Privatisation has at its core the need for ‘customer choice’, that is the driver for all commercial operations, otherwise it is always a fail. The consumer should be the only definer. When we have placed previous nationalised industries into the commercial sector, what does Government do, it takes money from the Taxpayer to fund those operations – that is dumb on many counts. The first big fail is just as it is also with Quango’s the government throws taxpayer money around as if its confetti then denies all responsibility, denies that giving people money they are responsible for outcomes. The railways have needed the taxpayer to fund routes – why? If there was consumer choice the whole ethos of a commercial operation, there would never be a need. Even the Steel Industry from the get go has been a consumer of taxpayer money, taxpayer money sent abroad to fund other regimes – even worse, and no accountability! They off loaded the Auto Industry and killed it at the same time
In essence if the Government has to steal from the taxpayer to make something work there is a problem. Then for the Government to shrug its shoulders and say ‘not me guv’ we have another problem – but it is ‘they’ (the Government) that are in these instances acting as consumer, they are spending other people’s money, they hold the purse string and are therefore responsible for outcomes.
There is a middle ground that is competitive contracts. Most councils use competitive time restricted contracts for services, refuge collection, street cleaning etc. By and large it works better than the UK Government giving taxpayer money to large monolithic organisations to run monopolies.
It’s a larger subject than can be fleshed out in a few sentences here, but no one can deny on the proof of outcomes to date Governments have had these things so very wrong at every level. Governments, Parliament have proved they can’t run themselves let along a business. Then as Governments have no business acumen, they are devoid of the knowledge in how to set up the structures needed to create free standing enterprises.
June 1, 2026
The latest ill-though out wheeze from Government therefore Parliament is for ‘private finance initiatives (PFIs)’ for use in national infrastructure schemes. Logically more taxpayer-imposed giveaways that reward everyone but the consumer. What is says is Parliament wants top-down control for personal ideology vanity projects, just to be able say at the elect me look what ‘I’ did.
My preference because I have seen it work and work well is to facilitate what effectively is management buy outs of the businesses that people who work there have a vested involvement and interest in. That would work for the Steel Industry particularly. The problem is the UK Parliament still don’t get it, trade, commerce, even investment is about the consumer being the arbiter the definer. The UK Parliament, its government have closed minds in that to them the only thing that works is for large protected or nationalised organisations are the best ones to run projects in the UK.
They are unable to think beyond the next election.
June 1, 2026
Japan is a good example of a case where privatisation has worked well and been welcomed by the public . They were always famous for their good time keeping but the attitude of the staff and management to the public has improved a lot and become more responsive to the public’s wishes.
June 2, 2026
But again Japan railway not fully privatised. Like all leading economies around the world, it’s a hybrid between private and public.
Main subsidies in Japan are for rural areas. Makes sense. A busy railway line should be able to pay for itself because of volume of passengers.
June 1, 2026
The issue is lack of profit potential from normal passenger rail service.
There needs to be a rethink on what the rail system is best at doing.
Here is an example to consider that is profitable. The air industry actually carry freight and passengers as a part of their standard service.
I think we need to reconsider how the train is run and perhaps it should include freight and passengers on routs that are intercity. The benefit would be double edged as it could also remove some of the road freight and lesson the stress on our roads while providing an income uplift to the train operator. I know this would have to be a change that evolved over time due to marshalling issues and everything else, but it is clear rail travel is not a profitable business when ticket sales alone are trying to fund it.
June 1, 2026
James Murray was on TV this morning, apparently he is secretary of state for health this week…
He said the rationale for not screening men for prostate cancer was that a positive PSA test was not indicative of prostate cancer. He then went onto say that the removal of the prostate would lead to incontinence in two thirds of men.
I have never heard or seen a politician talk such nonsense about something they clearly know so little about and present it as some kind of good news.
For a starter other countries, like Australia, routinely take two (or more) PSA blood tests 2 weeks apart every 12 months. PSA goes up and down naturally in curves over time, and taking multiple blood tests over a few weeks allows the accuracy of the test as a screening approach to be significantly improved. The UK analysis of the merits of PSA tests for screening did not even consider this routine approach adopted in the rest of the developed world.
Nobody progresses onto prostate removal just on the basis of abnormal PSA, if high PSA is picked up then scans and biopsies will be done to determine whether treatment is appropriate. So, it is complete fantasy to think that inaccurate PSA leads to unnecessary treatment. And contrary to what the sec of state said high PSA is the one and only way of picking up prostate cancer early in volume numbers for lots of men, and the earlier treatment takes place the higher the chances of long-term success. It is far harder, and often impossible, to treat someone when the cancer is caught late, such patients often end up with little other than pain relief and hormones for a long and painful death, if caught early treatment can be entirely curative so that your chances of dying from cancer are no more than anyone elses.
If you have family history, eg your father and/or brothers died from from prostate cancer, or have already been diagnosed or treated for prostate cancer, then you should be getting your PSA tested every year or 6 months. To encourage men not to do that is pushing men to die decades earlier than they would in any other developed country.
The NHS if it was half decent would be proactively identifying men with family history and encouraging them to get tested regularly. And it should also be rolling out screening more widely in the population too, but for
Other countries routinely use Proton Beam rather than the radiotherapy approaches used in the UK, which are regarded as old fashioned in the rest of the planet. Proton Beam allows much more accurate targeting of the cancer, and avoids damaging surrounding tissues and organs as much as standard UK approaches. UK cost benefit analysis of screening and treatment does not factor in the massive changes in the outcomes if Proton Beam is offered.
So, the whole UK cost/benefit equation which dismisses screening is wrong, and misses obvious things which are done in the rest of the planet. Eg Multiple PSA tests over a few weeks to improve its accuracy, use of Proton Beam, and so on.
Removing the prostate does not cause long term incontinence in 66% of men, that is wrong. It may do for a week or two after the op, but not long term. There are side affects of the op but these are significantly better than dying decades earlier than you need to, and it’s a crap way to die too.
The NHS is measured on waiting lists and not healthy happy years of life, or cancer survival. So its default is to avoid identifying people early who could be cured, as to do so would lead to many more treatments being demanded. It is easier for the NHS to find out people have prostate cancer too late when its already too late to save them, and then just dish out morphine. It is also easier/cheaper for the NHS to continue to use older cheaper radiotherapy approaches long after the rest of the developed world has moved onto proton beam. The job of politicians is to hold such public sector people to account, change the way their metrics measure them, and push for advances in use in the rest of the planet.
The railways will be the same as healthcare, public sector running it does not lead to success, certainly not on its own.
The Conservatives should really be challenging the government and public sector on this, it would be easy to demolish their nonsense arguments.
June 2, 2026
iain
Agree absolutely with your comments.
Our Local Lions Clubs have organised voluntary Prostate PSA testing (with Qualified personal and testing centres) every year, for many years.
Normally attended by over 1,000 local residents, for years the results have shown that 9% of those taking part have an elevated reading that should require further investigation or testing.
My own Prostate cancer was picked up at such an event, and after a further PSA test organised by my own Doctor, which confirmed the still low but higher than expected reading, I had an MRI Scan which showed a potential problem, a Biopsy was then taken which conformed two early stage cancer tumours which were then successfully removed with relatively new HiFu treatment, without any of the long term side effects often mentioned.
I was fortunate, as member of our Lions Club I took advantage of regular testing at our event, even though I had none of the usual symptoms, thus I was detected at a very early stage.
The cost of testing is about £25.00 per person, free to all those attending, as the event is/was sponsored by local businesses, and by personal donations on the day. l
All patients can ask for a test at your local GP, some will say it’s not accurate, other Doctors will approve.
I have been tested annually for the last 10 years, hence I knew when I got an elevated reading I needed further investigation.
The latest decision by Government not to test is an absolute disgrace, and the comments for not doing so are farcical.
The real reason is MONEY !
June 2, 2026
I see the health secretary has been on the news again today saying “prostate cancer is different to other cancers because it grows more slowly”… as some kind of excuse for the inaction and poor performance of the NHS. never ever has a minister being so clueless and badly briefed about his role. the reason the UK has the worst cancer survival rates in the developed world is exactly because of nonsense like this.
I really dont know how he sleeps at night.
June 2, 2026
oh dear, the government is giving screening for prostate cancer to black men, but excluding white men with family history ie their fathers and brothers will already have died from prostate cancer. not only is this bad science, it seems like they are just trying to stoke racial conflict. I am absolutely disgusted.
June 3, 2026
Ian
Fully agree again,
The laboratory Biopsy’s of my tumours showed they were medium – aggressive at 5mm and 8mm diameter with a PSA score of 4.2. MRI scans showed confined to Prostate only at the time.
The PSA score was apparently too low for any treatment at my local hospital in Berkshire, but rapid treatment suggested and completed at Imperial College London where I had absolutely excellent care, after I asked my GP for a second opinion.
Afraid many Government Ministers do not seem to have a clue at all, and clearly do not ask the right questions of the “experts” who they seem to rely upon.
June 3, 2026
Fashions are baked into the senior layers of the public sector, and the politicians fail to hold them to account. Fashions such as anti white racism, anti car nuttiness, rubbish healthcare which actively decides to let people die decades earlier than they would in any other developed country for the want of simple cheap treatment.
Normal people are going to rebel in a big way. I for sure am weary of the evil I have been subjected to from the public sector, and the waste of time that is their complaints process.
I was in a publicly funded “community centre” a few days ago, I was the only white straight person in a big building, lots of different ethnic groups holding their own dance/song/poem/etc sessions in rooms with only their own ethnicity in their room (no integration with the native population, or amongst the many different ethnic groups), gay extremists indoctrinating little children into the merits of being gay. Indian security staff who were OPENLY RACIST TO ME A WHITE BLOKE. I was so shocked I have been considering whether to get it in the press and complain, but I really dont see the point. This country is a laughing stock now.
June 1, 2026
Privatisation of the railways and water was a disaster – problem is nobody responsible is willing to own up with most dead or else hiding away in the Lords
June 1, 2026
Any government-owned and run organisation will always compete for investment with all the other demands on Government spending. When, as now, the Government spends taxpayers’ money with no discipline, no concern for running up debts, and no concern for future consequences, the railways will be at the back of the queue. It is one more mess for the next Government to clear up! As will the Steel industry.
Before nationalisation, the private rail companies owned the track and stations, so the split between operating trains and separate ownership of the tracks and stations was always going to be a disaster.
But then, with this Labour Government, everything is!
June 1, 2026
Could be a hoax? N.Sturgeon moving to London?
All I can say is ‘Haste ye back’.
Not very convenient for visiting one’s husband.
June 1, 2026
13 ‘illegal immigrants’ invaded the UK yesterday 31st May 2026 …..
June 2, 2026
to be fair the east coast mainline trains did run better when the TOC was in public hands after one of the private operators handed the service back. “East Coast ” was the branding. but I think that was mainly to do with the management team they had then, the lady at the top is now running Baxi boilers I think, and no doubt grappling with the green loon nonsense from the state.
June 2, 2026
(Questions left out as they are about named individuals subject to police enquiries related to the murder of Henry Nowak. )
A brutal & tragic murder directly influenced by the toxic influence of DEI, Critical Race Theory & ‘Anti-racism’ all those who support & facilitate these toxic ideologies, especially in the public sector, you are absolute scum.
To the MP’s and government ministers who did not make any statement at all until the speaker of the house of commons ordered them to make a statement to parliament tomorrow, they are scum.
To the judge who gave an unduly lenient sentence, and supported the piss poor action of the police, you are a disgrace.
To the entire state apparatus which enforces multi-tier justice… your days are numbered.
We all owe Elon Musk a big thankyou for forcing the reality of these issues into the public domain, and forcing some minimal level of freedom of speech despite repeated attempts of the British state to stop it.
FFS this country is in a lot of trouble.
June 4, 2026
I see the government has stopped all train operating companies from hedging their diesel purchases in the market. All the TOC’s are forced to buy diesel at the fluctuating prices.
Seems madness to me.
No the wonder the railways are expensive to run.