DEBATE ▸02098A6B-DE34-·COMMONS
THU, 26 MAR 2026 · 09:50 START·CHECKED 07 JUL 2026·VIEW ON HANSARD ↗
LOCATION ▸ COMMONS CHAMBER
Passenger Rail Services
DURATION
5min
SPEAKERS
7
CLAIMS
73
CHECKED
48%
ACCURACY
50%
UNVERIFIABLE
14%
Verdict Mix73 CLAIMS · 35 CHECKED
TRUTH
True15
Partly True/False10
False3
Not Enough Evidence2
SUPPORT
Strongly Supported0
Plausible0
Weak Evidence2
Unsupported0
Not Enough Evidence3
Not Rated17
21 PENDING
Speakers in this Debate7 TOTAL
#MPPCLAIMSACCMIX
01Keir Mather
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport
LAB2658%
+6 not rated · 7 pending
02Mr Richard Holden
Con / Basildon and Billericay
CON1625%
+2 not rated · 4 pending
03Mr Andrew Snowden
Con / Fylde
CON1033%
+4 not rated · 3 pending
04Bell Ribeiro-Addy
Lab / Clapham and Brixton Hill
LAB1050%
+3 not rated · 5 pending
05Martin Vickers
Con / Brigg and Immingham
CON667%
+1 not rated · 1 pending
06Steve Witherden
Lab / Montgomeryshire and Glyndŵr
LAB5100%
+1 not rated · 1 pending
07Mr SpeakerSPK0
Party ParticipationTHIS DEBATE
PARTYSPKCLAIMSACCMIX
Labour34163%
+10 not rated · 13 pending
Conservative33236%
+7 not rated · 8 pending
Speaker10
Claims in this Debate73 TOTAL
TIMESPEAKERPCLAIMCATEGORYVERDICTSRC
09:50Keir MatherLABRail services under the previous Government were unreliable.FactualTrue19
09:50Keir MatherLABThis Government are bringing services into public ownership.FactualTrue17
09:50Keir MatherLABThis Government are creating Great British Railways.FactualTrue15
09:50Keir MatherLABThis generational reform is already improving passengers’ experience of rail services.CausalWeak Evidence69
09:50Keir MatherLABCancellations are starting to fall after years of decline.FactualPartly True/False50
09:51Bell Ribeiro-AddyLABInter-city rail fares in England remain eye-watering.JudgementNot Rated0
09:51Bell Ribeiro-AddyLABLondon to Birmingham costs £72 on the day.Factual0
09:51Bell Ribeiro-AddyLABLondon to Manchester costs £172.Factual0
09:51Bell Ribeiro-AddyLABLondon to Liverpool costs £179.Factual0
09:51Bell Ribeiro-AddyLABFlying the same route can cost as little as £80.Factual0
09:51Bell Ribeiro-AddyLABIn Spain, rail reform drove up passenger numbers by 107% on comparable routes.CausalWeak Evidence141
09:51Bell Ribeiro-AddyLABIn Spain, tickets on comparable routes were as low as €12.Factual0
09:51Bell Ribeiro-AddyLABThe rail fare freeze is welcome.JudgementNot Rated0
09:51Bell Ribeiro-AddyLABFares remain unaffordable for many people.JudgementNot Rated0
09:51Bell Ribeiro-AddyLABThe Railways Bill promises powers to regulate fares.FactualTrue22
09:52Keir MatherLABOperational questions relating to how GBR designates fares will be a matter to consider once it has been created.PredictiveNot Rated0
09:52Keir MatherLABPassenger affordability is a top priority for the Government.JudgementNot Rated0
09:52Keir MatherLABThis year, the Government froze regulated rail fares.FactualPartly True/False28
09:52Keir MatherLABThis was the first freeze in 30 years.FactualPartly True/False72
09:52Keir MatherLABIf the Government had not taken that decision, regulated rail fares would have increased by 5.8% from March.PredictiveNot Rated0
Mr Andrew SnowdenCONFylde has nationally and internationally significant events.JudgementNot Rated0
Mr Andrew SnowdenCONThe women’s open returns to Royal Lytham and St Annes this year.PredictiveNot Rated0
Mr Andrew SnowdenCONThe Lytham festival is going from strength to strength.Factual0
Mr Andrew SnowdenCONSunday rail services are important for these events.JudgementNot Rated0
Mr Andrew SnowdenCONSunday rail services are often cancelled.FactualPartly True/False67
Mr Andrew SnowdenCONSunday rail services are often cancelled because of a lack of conductors at Northern Rail.Causal0
Mr Andrew SnowdenCONNorthern Rail lacks conductors.FactualPartly True/False83
Mr Andrew SnowdenCONNorthern Rail was nationalised in 2020.FactualTrue27
Mr Andrew SnowdenCONThere is an inability to get staff to do overtime.Factual0
Mr Andrew SnowdenCONFylde has an important tourism industry.JudgementNot Rated0
09:52Keir MatherLABRail services can serve as a catalyst for economic growth.Causal0
09:52Keir MatherLABRail services can connect more people to the culture that communities like Fylde have to offer.Causal0
09:53Steve WitherdenLABRuabon station had progressed to the next stage of the Access for All programme.FactualTrue20
09:53Steve WitherdenLABThe speaker was delighted to get confirmation of that.FactualNot Enough Evidence14
09:53Steve WitherdenLABDisabled people and young mothers with prams can access the northbound platform only by climbing the steps and crossing the footbridge.FactualTrue41
09:53Steve WitherdenLABRuabon station is the second busiest of Wrexham’s five stations.Factual0
09:53Steve WitherdenLABIt is an absolute disgrace that disabled people and young mothers with prams can access the northbound platform only by climbing the steps and crossing the footbridge.JudgementNot Rated0
09:53Keir MatherLABMy hon. Friend is right in his ambition to ensure that accessibility is there for everyone right across our United Kingdom, including in Wrexham.JudgementNot Rated0
09:53Martin VickersCONMartin Vickers and Sir Edward Leigh are pleading with Ministers for that train service.Factual0
09:53Martin VickersCONThe hon. Member for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes would happily kneel as well.FactualNot Enough Evidence60
09:53Martin VickersCONLNER has been in state ownership for a number of years.FactualTrue19
09:53Martin VickersCONLNER still cannot provide that service.FactualPartly True/False133
09:53Martin VickersCONThere is an open access application from Grand Central Rail for a service to Grimsby.FactualTrue55
09:53Martin VickersCONThe Government should at least look sympathetically on that application.JudgementNot Rated0
09:54Keir MatherLABOpen access decisions are a matter for the Office of Rail and Road.FactualTrue49
09:54Keir MatherLABThe Office of Rail and Road is operationally independent.FactualTrue99
09:55Mr Richard HoldenCONWe still do not know how or what the Government want to achieve with state control of the railways.Factual0
09:55Mr Richard HoldenCONThey say that there will be simpler fares.PredictiveNot Rated0
09:55Mr Richard HoldenCONThe public are seeing simply more expensive fares.Factual0
09:55Mr Richard HoldenCONThey say that passenger growth is necessary.FactualPartly True/False16
09:55Mr Richard HoldenCONThere is no target for that growth in the Railways Bill.FactualTrue19
09:55Mr Richard HoldenCONThey say they want to reduce the taxpayer subsidy.FactualTrue17
09:55Mr Richard HoldenCONThe Minister refuses to say how they hope to achieve that.FactualFalse26
09:55Mr Richard HoldenCONThe lack of a plan is why the Secretary of State has been reduced to trying to claim credit for the work of others.CausalNot Enough Evidence115
09:55Mr Richard HoldenCONShe has been left red-faced after posting on X about the phasing out of the old class 455 trains on South Western Railway.CausalNot Enough Evidence195
09:55Mr Richard HoldenCONShe has been community noted after posting on X about the phasing out of the old class 455 trains on South Western Railway.Factual0
09:55Mr Richard HoldenCONShe said it was down to the “progress...on your publicly owned railway”.Factual0
09:55Mr Richard HoldenCONIt was actually delivered under a Conservative Government.FactualPartly True/False42
09:55Mr Richard HoldenCONIt was actually delivered by a private company.FactualPartly True/False93
09:56Keir MatherLABThe shadow Secretary of State's party has consistently voted against the Railways Bill.FactualPartly True/False54
09:56Keir MatherLABThe reason for pursuing nationalisation is laid out in black and white.Factual0
09:56Keir MatherLABNationalisation is pursued to deliver better services for passengers.Causal0
09:56Keir MatherLABNationalisation is pursued to ensure that the railway is run in the public interest.Factual0
09:56Keir MatherLABNationalisation is pursued to ensure that the railway is not run for profit.Causal0
09:56Keir MatherLABNationalisation is pursued to leave behind the decades of misery and delay under the privatised system.Causal0
09:56Keir MatherLABThe privatised system did not serve any of the travelling public across the United Kingdom.JudgementNot Rated0
09:56Mr Richard HoldenCONThe Minister is not prepared to agree with the Secretary of State.FactualFalse71
09:56Mr Richard HoldenCONPublic ownership is expected to save taxpayers up to £110-150 million every year.PredictiveNot Rated0
09:56Mr Richard HoldenCONThose savings are several orders of magnitude less than the costs of scaling up DfTO staffing in anticipation of establishing GBR.FactualFalse26
Keir MatherLABThe shadow Secretary of State talks about value for money for the British taxpayer.FactualTrue33
Keir MatherLABThe national rail strikes under the last Government cost the taxpayer £850 million in lost revenue between June 2022 and August 2024.FactualTrue46
Keir MatherLABThe operational savings that will be achieved by the nationalised railways are an order of magnitude smaller than the cost of establishing Great British Railways.PredictiveNot Rated0
Keir MatherLABEstablishing Great British Railways unlocks benefits for the travelling public.CausalNot Enough Evidence39