by our industrial reporter @TrinderMatt

PROTESTERS demanded that Grant Shapps — dubbed “Grinch Shapps” — prevents “swingeing cuts” to South Western Railway (SWR) services at an RMT rally outside Parliament today.

Several socialist Labour MPs, including former shadow chancellor John McDonnell and ex-party chair Ian Lavery, joined the rail union’s members and activists to demand action from the Transport Secretary.

They held up a banner depicting Mr Shapps as the Grinch, as well as placards reading: “12 months to save our rail services.”

RMT has accused SWR bosses and Network Rail of using the Covid-19 pandemic as cover to “reduce services and launch an attack on jobs and conditions.”

Both peak and off-peak services are set to be slashed by 15 per cent of pre-pandemic levels from December 2022 after a consultation in the summer, the union warned.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Grant Shapps is behaving more like Grinch Shapps and trying to steal our rail services at Christmas.”

Mr Lynch added that it “simply beggars belief” that weeks after hosting the Cop26 global climate summit, Tory ministers are taking the axe to public transport, which “needs massive investment if we are going to get anywhere near to achieving our climate goals.

“What we’re seeing on [SWR] and across the railways is the same-old Tory austerity and a drive to make workers and passengers pay for the Covid-19 crisis,” he said.  

“My message is clear: our union will simply not tolerate this wholesale attack on rail services, jobs and pay and we will fight tooth and nail against them.”