OUR rail system is broken.

Rail fares are up by 36 per cent since 2010, two-and-a-half times faster than wages.

Passenger numbers are in decline and the franchising system is in chaos.

Last week we heard Virgin Trains and Stagecoach, who run the franchise on the West Coast Mainline, have been excluded by the Government for bidding for a renewal of its contract.

Speaking to workers on my train home from Westminster, it is clear how chaotic and shambolically this has been run.

The Pensions Regulator have found a £6b black hole in the pension funds for its workers, but rail companies are refusing to pay.

This is despite the fact Virgin owner Sir Richard Branson will have taken at least £306m in dividends from Virgin Trains by the time they lose their contract.

Despite our constituency still not having connectivity, it angers us all that railways are being run by a few firms in the interests of profit.

Crowding, delays and ticket prices prove where their loyalties lie – with shareholders.

The next Labour Government will stop above-inflation fare rises, invest in the railways and bring our train network into public ownership.

Not only would that mean an increased quality of our rail network, it would mean expansion.

A Labour Government will invest to regenerate our local and regional economies so we get our fair share of transport investment.

As I have said in previous columns, a major component of regenerating our towns and attracting investment is ensuring we are connected to the booming economies of our cities.

Rail is just one way we need to reform our procurement system in the UK.

Government has a role to ensure that when your taxes are spent, they are spent with companies and organisations that pay their workers fairly, treat their workers fairly and pay their taxes fairly.

How is it right then, that the Government last year alone spent £46m with Amazon while their total tax bill in the UK since 2015 was £27.8m?

So on top of Labour’s proposals to reform our broken procurement system, I have also invited one of Amazon’s bosses to Leigh to show him the impact that underfunding in our communities is having that could be resolved if a transformational Government with megafirms paying their fair share in tax could resolve.

I am delighted they have accepted this invitation and I look forward to showing Amazon bosses the importance of a fair taxation system that works for the many, and one that the next Labour Government will introduce.

Separately, the last few weeks have been testing for everyone with the increased Brexit divisions draining those inside and outside politics.

I therefore hope everyone is able to take an Easter break to spend some much-needed rest with friends and family.