Our local bus network is in a shocking state.

After a decade of cuts, our bus network is basic and barely meeting the needs of the community.

A functioning bus service is essential to our personal welfare and local economy.

Post-covid, and after further cuts, the system is not working. We have a limited bus service, which is unreliable, with listed services cancelled without warning. Commuters lack reliable real-time information on whether the bus they need to get to work, go shopping, or attend a medical appointment will arrive.

This has a knock-on effect on the whole of society. In recent weeks, Tory PM hopefuls are warning they will fine people who miss GP and hospital appointments. Another accused British workers of being lazy while having no plan to help workers turning in late due to the lack of a reliable bus service.

Bus services affect us all.

Our high streets are only as strong as there are people to use them. Every cancelled bus, or service cut, means fewer people getting into our towns and shopping centres. Bus services that stop at 6 pm mean reduced demand limiting the opportunity to develop a fully functioning nighttime economy. Buses and a reliable public transport network are the lifeblood of the economy, which is essential for creating jobs, growth and opportunities.

Productivity is the growing buzzword of would-be Prime Ministers, but there is nothing less productive for a business than employees arriving late as their bus was cancelled or did not arrive. When a company decides whether to establish a new operation or whether they should relocate, places without functioning public transport are less desirable, leaving deprived areas left behind when competing to bring new business to their area.

Recession Rishi or Lazy Liz, it does not matter which becomes PM, because they have held the reins of power for 12 years under a succession of different Prime Ministers. Their problem is that they do not understand the importance of reliable public services or accept that some services, bus, rail, gas, electric and water are too important to fail. As a country, we have allowed state-owned companies from around the world to profit from our public services.

Unlike our wannabe PM hopefuls, I actually believe in British innovation and ingenuity. I believe as a country, we can run these services better and more cost-effectively, operating in the national interest rather than making profits to subsidise consumers in Germany, France or Spain.

Never forget, as we struggle with spiralling energy costs, EDF, the French State Owned Company, capped increased at 4% domestically. However, in the UK, our Government have allowed them to increase average bills from around £1,400 a year (October 2021) with bills expected to exceed £4,200 by January 2023.

We are not only paying the price as consumers but also as taxpayers. This winter, the Government will spend £15 billion through energy grants, a transfer of money from the state to energy companies. Ofgem, the regulator, meant to protect the public, has changed the price cap, allowing companies to pass on rising costs quicker. The government’s first instinct is to protect energy companies, and prop up a failing model of privatisation rather than protecting the public they are meant to represent.

Our public services are broken, because we are sustaining a failed model of privatisation, that places profits over the public interest. It is a model that prioritises short-term shareholder dividends over the long-term needs of the community.

Enough is enough.

We need to demand that our political leaders stop allowing us to be ripped off. Instead, they should do their jobs by working for us and delivering the public services we need to thrive and prosper, starting with the most basic – a reliable and functioning transport network.