THE two left-wing candidates to become general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) made their final pitches to the members today.

Taking part in a Q&A for the Morning Star as voting in the leadership ballot closed today, socialists Maryam Eslamdoust and Bonnie Craven explained why they had put their hats in the ring after the election was called following the publication in February of an damning independent report by Helena Kennedy KC.

Ms Eslamdoust, a former mayor and Labour councillor in the London Borough of Camden, said that “public transport is in my soul” as she recalled how her brother, who was born blind, has relied on train staff to exercise his freedom for his whole life, “so, from an early age, I have been campaigning alongside him on access, staffing, investment and other transport issues.”