WORKINGTON MP Mark Jenkinson criticised Labour after three of its parliamentary candidates launched a campaign to protect the local bus services.

The Labour candidates for Carlisle, Penrith and the Solway and Whitehaven and Workington have come together to ‘fight for funding’ to improve local bus services.

“The reality is under the Tories bus services have been decimated across the country and the subsidies that local authorities used to receive to subsidise vital connections have been slashed by millions,” said Carlisle Labour candidate, Julie Minns.

“It's less than two years since the Government refused to fund Cumbria's Bus Service Improvement Plan, a plan that would have extended child fare discounts from under 16s to under 21s, offered season ticket deals to low paid workers, and offered evening services on key tourist routes in the main summer season.”

The number of miles covered by bus services in Cumbria has fallen by a fifth over the last decade according to the latest figures.

Department for Education figures show bus companies in Cumbria provided 8.2 million miles of services in the year to March – up from 7.8 million the year before but In 2012-13, 10.4 million miles were provided, meaning bus coverage has been cut by 21 per cent over the last decade.

But Workington’s Conservative MP, Mark Jenkinson said that the fault lies at Labour’s door.

“The blame lies not with the Government, which has invested billions in this. Rather, it lies with Cumberland’s Labour-led councils which has failed to seize the funding opportunities laid out on a plate for them,” said Mr Jenkinson.

“Local government reform was about giving councils greater powers, but they cannot force them to take the initiative. The Government has taken the proverbial horse to water: they cannot make it drink.

“Cumberland council has been afforded ample opportunity to make use of the considerable funding through the Conservative Government’s Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP+) to improve, subsidise and revive bus services across Cumberland.

“Labour should get its own house in order and develop a sustainable transport strategy in Cumberland – making use of the powers and considerable Government support they receive to improve bus services for my constituents.

“I'm clear, bus funding should go towards reviving cancelled services, extending existing services at either end of the day or into weekends, increasing frequency, and supporting those routes which are at risk of closure.

“The Government has done its bit. It is over to Cumberland to deliver.”

Julie hit back at Mr Jenkinson’s claims and said that he should ‘demanding’ more funding from the government for Cumberland’s bus services.

Julie said: “Rather than criticising our campaign to improve services, Cumbria's Conservative MPs should be demanding that their government not only give us the funding we need to support services but also give local authorities like ours the powers we need to set fares, routes and timetables so that we don’t lose anymore services.”

Cumberland Council’s Executive Member for Sustainable, Resilient and Connected Places also hit back at Mr Jenkinson’s claims and criticised the government’s ‘short-term’ planning for regional bus services.

“As the Council has previously stated we are delighted that the Government has allocated £150 million previously earmarked for HS2 towards enhancing bus services in the North and Midlands,” said Cllr Rollo.

“Cumberland Council will receive up to £1.6m which is in addition to the £929,486 as part of the Bus Service Improvement Plan Plus (BSIP Plus) from the Department for Transport.

“In collaboration with local operators, we will determine the most effective allocation of these funds for the upcoming financial year.

“The funding will be rolled out in phases and the list of services for phase 1 is almost finalised where we are likely to see the additional services in place for late April / May. With future phases the Council is going to explore how we can provide ‘sustainable bus services’ in rural areas.

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“Whilst we welcome the award of BSIP Plus funding, we must also acknowledge that the Government awarded nothing to Cumbria under the first phase of the BSIP Bus Back Better funding allocations.

“This Government persists with a short-term competitive approach to funding essential public services which is not fit for purpose.

“The people of Cumberland need public transport they can rely on, not a bus route that springs up and runs for 6 to 12 months until the subsidy dries up.”