THE decision to strip rail operator Northern was a 'cynical ploy' by the government, a Furness representative of a rail union has said.

Dalton councillor Steve Nott, who is a representative of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union said transport chiefs were burying the bad news of fare increases of 2.7 per cent.

He said: "It is clear this is really just a cynical ploy by the government to bury the bad news of their fare rise forced on to the public by making a wishy washy announcement that doesn’t even state clearly what will happen to the franchise once it’s removed."