There is nothing that annoys me more than politicians claiming that councils can do things that they can’t in order to try and win votes. Council elections are about local issues under the remit of the councils – period.
So when I went online and saw this post from Anas Sarwar, I decided to call it out for the patently dishonest claim that it is.
Councils have some remit to influence the cost of bus fares, but mostly they are dictated by the cost of running the services themselves. However, what they do not have any control over, is the power to set train fares. Train fares are under the remit of the operator, which as from the 1st of April is the Scottish Government because the rail franchise has been brought under the remit of a company where the Scottish Government owns the shares. Back into public ownership, effectively.
Councils have absolutely no remit to adjust, set, or otherwise change rail policy or the price charged to users of the rail network. It is wholly the remit of the Scottish Government, and to a certain extent, the Scottish Parliament in influencing the Scottish Government.
So when parties like labour make claims like this, they are wholeheartedly deceiving the electorate.