Church of England leaders call for end to 'circle of blame' in Southern rail dispute

Strike action: Commuters arrive at Victoria station on the day of a walkout
Jeremy Selwyn
Hatty Collier7 December 2016

Church leaders called for an end to the “circle of blame” in the ongoing Southern rail dispute as another wave of strikes brought misery for travellers.

In a letter, Church of England bishops said the dispute was threatening the economic health and development of communities, and they called for someone to "lead the way".

They said that those jointly responsible for the troubles on the trains have a "moral duty to alleviate the damage that the disruption is causing".

It comes as Southern rail cancelled more than 1,000 trains in the worst disruption so far in the nine month dispute.

Train drivers belonging to the Aslef union deliberately combined an overtime ban to coincide with a three-day walkout by RMT guards in the long-running row over changes to the role of conductors.

The letter, by the Bishop of Chichester, Dr Martin Warner, and backed by the Bishop of Horsham, Mark Sowerby, and Bishop of Lewes, Richard Jackson, is jointly addressed to Southern's parent firm Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), union leaders and the Department for Transport.

The letter said: "The weight of responsibility in this dispute was summed up by someone who wrote to us, as bishops in Sussex, and put this simple question: 'Who will break the circle of blame?'

“Someone has to lead the way."

Dr Warner called for union officials and GTR to renew efforts to bring the dispute to an end.

And he added: "Those who are suffering most as a result of this dispute are working people and their families and those who do not have their own means of transport.

"The ongoing dispute affects us all. It threatens the economic health and development of our communities. The winners in this dispute will be whoever has the moral courage and magnanimity to break the circle of blame.

"Christmas and a new year mark a good moment to seize that prize."

Additional reporting by Press Association.

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