Mike Nattrass (NI). - Mr President, the Fourth Railway Package removes choice and dictates how to run a railway. Currently, Member States choose to directly award public service contracts or organise competitive tenders. This is yet another EU one-size-fits-all imposition inflicted on the UK, stopping any government from even considering alternatives to the current failed UK privatised model of railways.

So this EU package imposes: one, a dramatic cost escalation due to fragmentation; two, tax increases due to private train company subsidies; three, passengers facing the highest rail fares in Europe; four, minimal investment because profits are given to shareholders instead of reinvesting.

Directly-operated railways on the East Coast mainline prove that publicly owned and operated railways deliver increased performance, with much lower subsidy than private operators. UK governments must have the freedom to implement alternative models in line with the interests of passengers and of taxpayers. The UK Government must run its own affairs without EU interference in UK sovereignty. All the UK really needs is independence.