Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn forced to sit on the floor of a train carriage after backing strikes by rail workers
Leader of the opposition filmed reading Private Eye on three-hour journey from London to Newcastle
LABOUR leader Jeremy Corbyn was forced to sit on the floor of a train carriage after backing strikes by rail workers.
The Leader of the opposition was filmed reading Private Eye with a cuppa on a three-hour journey from London to Newcastle.
The previous day he had joined rail unions protesting at a station in London, and has supported walkouts by staff on Southern Rail and Eurostar - despite them causing travel chaos for hundreds of thousands of commuters.
But when he came to catch a train from the capital to Newcastle for a debate with leadership rival Owen Smith he found himself without a seat.
He could have upgraded to first class, but instead chose to sit in the compartment, where he was filmed saying the railways should be brought back into public ownership.
Mr Corbyn said: “Is it fair that I should upgrade my ticket whilst others who might not be able to afford such a luxury should have to sit on the floor?
“It's their money I would be spending after all.”
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The 67-year-old added: “This is a problem that many passengers face every day, commuters and long-distance travellers.
“Today this train is completely ram-packed. The staff are absolutely brilliant, working really hard to help everybody.
“The reality is there are not enough trains, we need more of them – and they're also incredibly expensive.”
Strikes on Southern Rail have led to misery for thousands of commuters in recent weeks, after talks at aimed at resolving a dispute over the role of conductors collapsed.
As a result the firm introduced an emergency timetable meaning only about 60% of services are running across London and the South East.
And holidaymakers will be hit by planned strike action on Eurostar services to the continent in a row over working conditions.
Asked whether he backs them Mr Corbyn said earlier this month: “Yes, because I understand why they are doing it.”
And yesterday he revealed his transport policies pledging to “rebuild and transform” the UK’s transport network to address the “transport nightmare” currently faced by commuters.