The Party Conference season is almost upon us.
The contrast between the euphoric scenes that we will witness at Labour’s conference, with Jeremy Corbyn being greeted as a hero by his adoring fans, and the gloomy despondency of the Conservative conference, with Theresa May potentially fighting for her political life, will be too delicious for words.
But don’t let the joyous scenes at Labour deceive you – the party is as badly split on Brexit as the Conservative’s and many in the Labour movement still want to see the back of Jeremy Corbyn.
For the Conservatives, there will be an heroic attempt at party unity and doubtless Theresa May will make a brave mea culpa speech. She certainly needs to.
But what goes on behind the scenes will determine whether she can survive or not.
My hunch is she’s safe because there’s no obvious replacement, and a change of leadership so soon after the general election would create too much pressure for a re-run. Right now that would be too close to call, with Labour and the Conservatives neck-and-neck in the polls.
Oh yes, then there’s the Liberal Democrat conference. I don’t think we need pay much attention to that one.
Assuming all goes to plan, Martin Dean, MD Bus Development at Go-Ahead Group, is the next President-elect of the Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT).
I rather like the sound of this appointment. He’s a sensible, down-to-earth chap with no airs and graces, and I think he will do the job rather well. It’s largely an honorary role, with the principal task being to tour the country meeting and greeting coach and bus operators, to attend regional dinners and the like.
But it’s also an important role, helping to keep local operators in touch with things going on in London, recognising the good work they do.
Having someone with Martin Dean’s experience and industry knowledge in this role at a time like this is important.
The Bus Services Act may is be in place and all the political rough and tumble that went with it as the Bill went through parliament is be behind us. But it’s as important as ever that operators, large and small, step up to the mark and provide the best possible service for the public.
The debate about franchising is not going away, other policy issues and challenges will emerge. With the possibility of Jeremy Corbyn securing the keys to No. 10 when the next election takes place now a more real possibility than anybody could have imagined six months ago, bus operators really do need to be alert to the political risks they face if they fail to provide quality services.
