Labour loses vote to dock transport minister's pay over rail failure
Published May 23, 2018 16:45
Labour loses vote to dock transport minister's pay over rail failure
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's opposition Labour Party lost a vote on Wednesday to force the government to dock the transport minister's salary over his handling of the failed contract to run the London to Edinburgh rail line.
They wanted to cut Chris Grayling's pay by 2,400 pounds ($3,200) - the cost of an annual train ticket from his constituency in Ashtead (LON:AHT), Surrey to London.
The government said last week it would renationalise the Edinburgh route in June after the contract to run it failed because the private operators, Stagecoach (L:SGC) and Virgin, had over-estimated profits.
Labour, which supports the renationalisation of all Britain's railways, is angry at how Grayling handled the issue, and at his plans to allow private operators to be involved in running the line in future.
Labour employed a rarely used parliamentary tactic called a censure motion to hold a debate to see whether the House of Commons supports a government minister in the carrying out of his or her responsibilities. It lost by 304 to 271 votes.
"Historically, the House of Commons has called for a government minister's salary to be reduced by a nominal sum as an expression of its dissatisfaction with the conduct of a minister or their handling of a particular policy," the tabled motion stated.
The 2,400 pounds compares with lawmakers' basic salary of 76,011 pounds, although ministers are paid additional sums.
Get The App
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.