West Coast Main Line: Services

Debate between Navendu Mishra and Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

Thursday 15th December 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for allowing this important debate, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Ynys Môn (Virginia Crosbie) on securing it. Given that the west coast main line is, in the words of the Minister’s own Department,

“one of our most important rail corridors”,

it was crucial for the House to have the opportunity to discuss the state of the line’s services—or, more accurately, lack of services—on this Government’s watch.

While there are numerous challenges across the line, as we have heard today from one Member after another, the bulk of the issues faced by passengers comes from just two operators. Let us look at suspect No. 1, Avanti West Coast, with 33% of services running on time. That is its current record, and it means two thirds of passengers being left out in the cold on platforms—two thirds of passengers who are late for their commitments or, even worse, never make them; two thirds of passengers who have been let down by Avanti’s shocking rail services. Instead of acknowledging the shortcomings of these operators, the Government have rewarded Avanti’s ongoing failures with a new contract extension, much to the consternation of Conservative Members. That contract was paid for out of the pockets of the very passengers who are being let down by Avanti, again and again.

Figures show that, last year alone, £12 million in dividends was paid to Avanti, the country’s worst-performing operator. Why is that? Why are the Government prepared to make hard-working passengers pay for a service that is delayed or cancelled almost as often as it is on time? One would be forgiven for thinking that having removed thousands of services from its schedules in August, reducing the number of trains between Euston and Manchester Piccadilly from one every 20 minutes to one every hour, Avanti would be capable of producing a more reliable network. Sadly, even expecting that minimal level of service has been wishful thinking. Instead, those who rely on the busiest main line in the country face the reality that one in every eight Avanti west coast trains are cancelled. It is utterly absurd that millions of people, let alone numerous local businesses, cannot rely on these services.

Local metro Mayors have repeatedly raised concerns with the Government about the devastating impact the rail chaos is having on the northern economy, cutting people off from jobs, cutting businesses off from opportunities and cutting towns off from investment. Rewarding rail operators that obstruct northern growth is a far cry from the Government’s levelling-up agenda, which promised to better connect our towns and cities. The Government’s willingness to reward failure appears to be the common policy choice for west coast main line operating companies.

That brings us on to suspect No. 2: TransPennine Express. Six years ago, TransPennine Express blamed staff shortages, rest day working and driver recruitment for its failing services. Today, it is peddling the same old tired excuses. It therefore comes as no surprise that the Government plan to reward it with an eight-year contract in May. Some may be overly generous and say that the Government are incapable of recognising failure, but when we see how they are managing our public services across the board—from our health services and our schools to our borders—it is clear that they are simply doubling down on their failures and are happy to leave hard-working members of the public to pay the price. The Government have come up with a litany of excuses on behalf of west coast main line operating companies—excuses that do little to reassure those impacted by shambolic services.

Instead of making excuses, the Government should be looking at operators who are getting it right. On the east coast main line, as was explained earlier, more services are being delivered on time, with fewer cancellations. The Government have a responsibility to ensure that Britain’s rail infrastructure rivals that of our global partners. Instead, because of years of Tory failure to properly invest in our network, they have left our country with a second-rate infrastructure and rail services in crisis. To build the rail network that Britain needs, if the Government are not willing to strip franchises, they must at the very least place failing operators on a binding remedial plan to restore services for the British public, with clear penalties that discipline failure, not reward it. The new Rail Minister—the Minister of State, Department for Transport, the hon. Member for Bexhill and Battle (Huw Merriman), for whom I have a great deal of respect, especially in his previous role as Chair of the Transport Committee—has himself admitted that he absolutely sees the urgency of the current situation. If that is the case, why is he not taking urgent, decisive action?

Perhaps now would be a good time for the Minister to also come clean on whether the Transport Secretary is blocking an offer on rest day working that could stabilise rail services in the short term. The spokesman for the SNP, the hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire North (Gavin Newlands), highlighted how the Transport Secretary, at the very last minute, torpedoed talks and an agreement that would have prevented strikes, but we shall leave that to debate another day.

The Government have demonstrated time and time again that they cannot be trusted to follow through on their promises, and now Avanti is following suit.

[Navendu Mishra]

I am often confused, because the Department for Transport often comes across as the public relations department for private rail operators, rather than as a Government Department resolving disputes and their root causes. Does my hon. Friend feel the same?

Bhopal Gas Explosion Investigations

Debate between Navendu Mishra and Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

Tuesday 15th November 2022 Westminster Hall

[Navendu Mishra (Stockport) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered potential UK support for investigations into the Bhopal gas explosion.

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms McVey. I thank right hon. and hon. Members who are here to contribute for their interest in raising awareness of the tragedy and, most importantly, for campaigning for justice for the victims and survivors. I declare an interest as co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for India (trade and investment) and the secretary of the Indo-British all-party parliamentary group.

As hon. Members know, 38 years ago next month, the greatest industrial disaster in history occurred in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, where a Union Carbide plant leaked 27 tonnes of the deadly gas methyl isocyanate. None of the six safety systems designed to contain such a leak was adequate or operational, allowing the gas to spread throughout the city of Bhopal. The aftermath was catastrophic: up to 10,000 people died in the first 72 hours of the leak; over half a million people were exposed to the gas; 25,000 people died as a result of gas exposure; 150,000 chronically ill survivors remain; and an estimated 100,000 people have been exposed to contaminated water. By 2002, Greenpeace reported that 150,000 victims were chronically ill, with—even at that point—one person dying every two days.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate and thank him for doing so. The Bhopal gas disaster is history’s worst industrial catastrophe: 25,000 people were killed or died later from their injuries. As he pointed out, approximately 120,000 to 150,000 people remain chronically ill, with no hope of recovery. Does he agree that, rather than being betrayed and ignored, after 38 long years victims and their families deserve justice, accountability and proper compensation?

[Navendu Mishra]

Those figures are staggering, but several organisations have disputed them, saying that they are probably much higher in reality. Thirty-eight years is a very long time. I am 33 years of age; I was born in 1989—years after the gas leak. I fully agree with my hon. Friend’s point.

After the disaster it took almost five years for Union Carbide, in a partial settlement with the Indian Government, to pay out to some of the victims. The $470 million agreed resulted in 93% of claimants being awarded the equivalent of £380 each for what, in reality, are life-changing injuries. Over 38 years, that amounts to a measly and unjust 5p a day. The victims were not consulted during the settlement discussions and, understandably, many felt cheated by the compensation.

Although it may seem far-fetched, it appears that corporations value a Bhopali survivor’s life 100 times less than the life of an Alaskan seabird, because in 1989 —the same year as the partial settlement—Exxon spent $51,000 on the rehabilitation of each bird affected by its oil disaster.

The Dow Chemical Company, which is the parent company of Union Carbide, has for too long evaded its responsibility to the victims and survivors. Even before the explosion, the factory had been dumping toxic waste on the site and at nearby solar evaporation ponds, poisoning the water supply; and, after a cost-cutting spree from managers, old and faulty safety equipment was issued, and safety training cut from six months to two weeks. In addition, the safety training manuals were in English. It does not take a genius to work out that many people would not understand English in a state where the majority of people are Hindi speakers. Then again, that complete lack of awareness was evident when, only 19 years ago, Dow’s public affairs officer described the $500 payment in the 1989 payout as

“real good for an Indian.”

That is a disgusting attitude.

Today we are still campaigning for justice for the victims and survivors. Groups such as Action for Bhopal, the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, the trade union Unison, the British TUC, and Indian civil society and trade unions, have all called for compensation, environmental remediation, medical care and research, and support for the victims.

In 2013, Unison welcomed survivors of Bhopal to its national delegate conference, and I thank Unison for standing up for the victims. Several trade union members were killed in the Bhopal tragedy. If their concerns had been listened to by management, the leak might not have happened.

I place on the record the name of Mr Ashraf Mohammad Khan. He died horribly after being drenched in phosgene in an event just a few years before the 1984 tragedy. The safety systems at the plant were not only incredibly poor; they were virtually non-existent and accidents with fatal consequences took place earlier in the 1980s.

In this House, the work of my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), my hon. Friend the Member for Brent North (Barry Gardiner) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn) has not gone unnoticed in the historic campaign to raise awareness of this tragedy. I am also aware that the right hon. Tessa Jowell, the late Member for Dulwich and West Norwood, was also supportive of the survivors and victims.

Sadly, despite the fact that it has been conceded that this was “a terrible tragedy” and one that continues to affect the citizens of Bhopal to this day, in written parliamentary questions that I tabled earlier this year the UK Government’s abdication of responsibility for the victims of this tragedy was plain to see. Indeed, what is more disappointing is that the Minister who responded claimed that responsibility for remediation rests with the Indian authorities, when it is clear that it lies with the Dow Chemical Company. It is very disappointing that the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office seems to be parroting the lines of Dow’s public relations department.

In 2012, when we were celebrating the sporting expertise of nations from across the globe at the Olympics in London, the current Chancellor, who was then the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, signed off on Dow sponsoring a fabric wrap around the Olympic stadium at a cost of £7 million. I hope the Minister here today can explain why. Surely the Government agree that companies that abuse human rights that have failed to redress abuses for which they are responsible must be held to account and made to repair the harm they have caused, rather than being rewarded with highly profitable contracts and prestigious sponsorship agreements. Alternatively, is it the case that the current Government do not want to understand the plight of the victims and survivors?

Some people have wrongly alleged that this case is all but settled and that the pay-off in 1989 dealt with this monumental tragedy. However, it is far from “case closed” when justice continues to be evaded. In 1991, just two years after the settlement, a US Supreme Court order reinstated section 304B criminal charges against a dozen accused, which included Union Carbide. Over 30 years ago, Indian courts declared Union Carbide a “proclaimed absconder” for its failure to attend trial.

Since 2001, Dow has been issued with six summons and to this day it has still not appeared. India has since filed a curative petition in its Supreme Court to remedy what it termed “a gross miscarriage” of justice and perpetration of irredeemable injustice being suffered by the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy. The petition argues that civil compensation has been based on mortality and morbidity figures that were completely incorrect and far removed from reality. We await the next hearing on this tragedy early next year.

Before I secured this debate, the FCDO asked me whether I wanted a meeting to discuss the specific issues relating to the tragedy that I wanted to explore, so I will now directly raise those issues with the Minister.

As the Government continue to negotiate a trade agreement with India, which I of course welcome, we must not see our ties as being wholly about shared business interests, but about our shared responsibilities. Our responsibility in the face of this disaster, which took place 38 years ago, is to try to obtain justice for the victims and their families. That includes lobbying Dow to provide unpublished findings of all studies on the effect of methyl isocyanate on living systems, and to provide unpublished findings of investigations into the soil and groundwater in and around the Bhopal factory.

Additionally, Dow previously accepted liability for asbestos claims against Union Carbide in the USA predating the merger with Dow. When Dow settled a suit on behalf of Union Carbide in 2002, $7.16 trillion was wiped off Dow’s share price.

Given that Dow has offices in Britain, could the Minister—not civil servants, but the Minister—request a meeting with Dow executives to ask why there is this disparity between accepting liabilities in the USA and not accepting them in India? Does Dow value the life of American victims differently to how it values Indian victims?

In 2011, the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment published an article and video by two British environmental scientists, which suggested that double-blind sampling between Indian and European laboratories and eventual site clean-up works could be the way forward. However, they noted that such work would require high-level political support. Therefore, having abolished the Department for International Development and slashed the aid budget, will this Government be interested in remediating this historic injustice and providing the required political support?

Before I end, I pay tribute to Mr Rajkumar Keswani, the Bhopali journalist of the Jansatta daily newspaper, who raised the alarm about the Union Carbide plant before the leak, but was ridiculed. Between 1982 and 1984, he wrote several articles detailing the poor safety standards at the plant. If he had been listened to, this grave tragedy might have been averted.

I also thank Mr Nigel Smith, my good friend from my constituency of Stockport, who has been supporting Bhopali victims and survivors for many decades. It is now for Union Carbide and Dow to accept the “polluter pays” principle, which is adhered to by both India and the United States. Neither the Union of India nor the state government of Madhya Pradesh should bear any burden for this tragedy. Rather, Dow should front up all the financial burden and costs for the purpose of environmental clean-up and remediation, as well as the medical treatment of not only the victims but the survivors and their families.

Since the onset of the pandemic, evidence shows that the death rate of Bhopal survivors due to covid-19 is 6.5 times higher than those not exposed to the deadly gas. No one can say, therefore, that this disaster does not continue to blight the lives of so many. To Members across the House, who live thousands of miles from where the tragedy unfolded, it may seem remote, but for the victims, their children and families, whose lives and livelihoods have been affected by the events of the evening of 2 December 1984, today is important, because it should be the start of our country’s contribution to the campaign for justice for the victims and survivors. I hope the Minister can assure all of us.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Navendu Mishra and Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

Thursday 1st July 2021 Commons Chamber

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

What plans the Government have to privatise Channel 4.

[Navendu Mishra (Stockport) (Lab)]

What plans the Government have to privatise Channel 4.