TRADE UNIONISTS rallied in Berwick-on-Tweed on Friday, condemning government plans to close almost 1,000 rail ticket offices and sack staff, leaving disabled, frail and vulnerable people unable to use railways.

Speakers at the rally in the town’s Maltings theatre included campaigners from Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC), RMT general secretary Mick Lynch and North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll, who will stand for re-election next May as an independent socialist after being blocked by the Labour Party.

Mr Driscoll said that a three-week timeframe for consultations on the closures – which faces a court challenge – already excludes many disabled people.

He said: “Fewer staff means less support for anyone who’s vulnerable.

“Government and train operators are saying if you’re disabled, a young person, or a woman travelling late at night: ‘Good luck, but you’re on your own’.”

He said the closures were just the latest effects of Tory privatisation of public services, saying: “This is part of a pattern of behaviour.

“We’ve been deregulating and selling off public services and infrastructure for 40 years.

“We were told the profit motive would improve efficiency. Do you believe it has panned out like that?

“Maybe ask the small business owner sending a parcel to the Highlands. Ask the commuter staring at a display screen of cancelled trains.

“Ask the landlady of your local pub if she can afford to keep the lights on and the doors open next month. Ask the child swimming in raw sewage at one of our beaches.

“The experiment has failed. And we, the public, are paying the price.”

Mr Driscoll said that all privatisation has achieved is “a huge transference of wealth into the hands of billionaires across the globe.

“Their culture is not to focus on long-term improvements for the public but to focus on short term-profit for the shareholders,” he said.

“The easiest way to achieve this is by cutting back on services and staff.

“Enough is enough. Polling shows two-thirds of British people, including Tory voters, support public ownership of our key utilities and services. I agree.

“So, let’s fight these closures. Let’s reverse privatisation. And let’s build the transport network we deserve and demand.”