OFF THE RAILS: EU Directive Blocks Corbyn’s Plan To Renationalise Britain’s Railways

Just days after the new Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn’s humiliating climbdown over Britain’s membership of the European Union, it has come to light that an EU Directive is standing in the way of Britain’s railways being renationalised, one of Mr Corbyn’s flagship policies.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage took to his Facebook today to lord the fact over Mr Corbyn after the Labour leader collapsed under pressure from his party this week. He had previously intimated that he was open to the idea of leaving the European Union if the deal for Britain was not good enough. Anti-TTIP campaigners on the political left had also placed high hopes in Mr Corbyn to change Labour’s stance on the EU.

Mr Farage wrote, in a short post: “Sorry Mr. Corbyn but it would be illegal under EU law to renationalise the railways due to European Union directive 2012/34/EU”.

This was immediately followed up with a press statement from UKIP’s Transport Secretary Jill Seymour, who said: “As long as we remain members of the European Union, Britain is simply not allowed to do this.”

“Ever since the first Railways Directive back in 1998, the EU has dictated that all member states must provide competition and allow independent companies to apply for non-discriminatory track access.

“Mr Corbyn has only been in position for a week, but it is already clear that his policy ideas are off the rails. I suggest he should check his facts before making such sweeping statements – unless, of course, he is proposing to join UKIP in campaigning for a ‘no’ vote in the upcoming European Union referendum?” 

The directive in question actually says: “In order to render railway transport efficient and competitive with other modes of transport, Member States should ensure that railway undertakings have the status of independent operators behaving in a commercial manner and adapting to market needs.”

The UKIP tactic of attacking Corbyn’s policies, rather than his previous statements, friends, or affiliations is a world of difference from the Conservative Party’s approach to the Labour leader.

Breitbart London understands that UKIP was not to attack Mr Corbyn from the outset, as they wanted to gain his support during the EU referendum campaign. Since his decision has now been made at the behest of his backbenchers, the party and its spokesmen have become more outspoken against Labour and Mr Corbyn’s leadership, with hopes that they can draw away old school, working class Labour voters who are unhappy with Mr Corbyn’s anti-Monarchy, anti-Army, and anti-Trident stances.