Carriage insult

Although if I were a party member I would be supporting Jeremy Corbyn, I must remind people that this idea was first floated by the Tory parliamentary under-secretary for state transport, Claire Perry MP.

Not one ounce of criticism was levelled at Ms Perry for such a policy idea, but when a candidate in the Labour leadership election mentions the mere thought it becomes a big news story and, let’s face facts here, the media appear to be going to great lengths to discredit the Corbyn campaign.

What is actually spoken of in the campaign policy document is as follows: “Some women have raised with me that a solution to the rise in assault and harassment on public transport could be to introduce women-only carriages.

“My intention would be to make public transport safer for everyone from the train platform, to the bus stop, to on the mode of transport itself.

“However, I would consult with women and open it up to hear their views on wether women-only carriages would be welcome – and also piloting this at times and modes of transport where harassment is reported most frequently and would be of interest.”

So there we have the truth. Corbyn’s only crime is to consult and engage with women to seek their views on the issue.

This amongst many things surely goes to highlight the continued media bias towards anyone on the Left. Segregation is a thing of the past and belongs in the dark ages.

If the funding of the British Transport Police was not London-centric then maybe we would be able to deploy more officers across the national rail network who could then work with the train operating companies to get firm on the bylaws, thus in time eradicating any  issues, be they disorder- or  safety-related.

Either that or people could just treat other travellers with respect.

Richie Veitch

Crown Street

Edinburgh