The Green Party has welcomed an announcement by Tory parliamentary candidate, Dom Morris, that he is backing their campaign to stop bus cuts in Exeter and Devon, following pressure from Green parliamentary candidate, Diana Moore. Writing on his website, Mr Morris describes the proposed cuts as “counterproductive” for Exeter.
However, while welcoming Mr Morris’s intervention and his support for the Green Party campaign, Green parliamentary candidate, Diana Moore, is bemused at what she describes as ‘double standards’. She said:
“These are Tory cuts and the direct result of the politics of austerity that has been inflicted on the people of Exeter by the coalition government. I am delighted if Mr Morris is finally acknowledging the terrible impact that austerity is having on the poorest and most vulnerable in our society. Sadly though, I hear him consistently argue for yet more government cuts at hustings.”
A few weeks ago Exeter Green Party members boarded buses and stood at bus stops to talk to passengers about the £1.7 million cuts proposed by Devon County Council to bus services in Exeter and across the County. Many hundreds of passengers completed postcards to the County Council, opposing the cuts. Exeter’s Greens also launched an online petition. Ms Moore and Green Party members have also met with Stagecoach to discuss the proposed service cuts. Diana concluded:
“Dom Morris says the Council should explore alternative funding proposals which don’t affect key services in Exeter. We agree, which is why the Green Party have pledged to raise public spending through increased taxation on the wealthy and multinational corporations, and cutting pointless projects like Trident. If Dom Morris really wants to oppose cuts affecting key services, he will speak out against the damage that Tory austerity is doing.”
The proposed cuts to buses affect five city services: complete withdrawal of the T service between Countess Wear and Topsham Quay; cuts to night-time services on the P route and reduction of D services during University vacations affecting staff and postgraduate students and reductions to the U/M services. There are also cuts proposed to many services into Exeter from the hinterland and cuts to the Shop Mobility service. A public consultation is open until 20th April.
Notes
[1] Diana Moore presented Dom Morris with a copy of the petition at the University Expo event on 13th March and has since exerted public pressure through social media.