Labour Party Members have been instrumental in the u-turn by the Conservative Government to close ticket offices, including Lowestoft.

Present regulations required the train companies to have minimum staffing at railways stations. The proposed change meant train operators would be free to staff or de-staff any station to whatever level they choose leaving our stations susceptible to anti-social behaviour and ticket sales inaccessible to the most vulnerable.

Labour Party members spent 3 days at the station, informing passengers of the proposed change. We gathered 463 signatories from users both outside the station and online via our petition.

On hearing the news on 31 October, Jess Asato, our Parliamentary Candidate for Lowesoft stated:

“I’m delighted that the Government has listened to local residents in Lowestoft who were furious about ticket office closure plans announced earlier this summer. Alongside writing to Transport Secretary Mark Harper, Lowestoft Labour gathered hundreds of signatures from rail users outside the station to ensure their voice was heard as part of the consultation process. Older and disabled people would have been disproportionately impacted by these proposals, as well as those who don’t have digital access.”

Thank you to all members of the Constituency Labour Party that helped with this endeavour.