Governments of all colours have struggled to come up with reliable long term plans for public transport in this country. Obvious failings of government policy include, for example, the spiralling costs and downgraded ambitions of the HS2 project, the stop-start of the electrification of the GWR services to Bristol and Cardiff and no realistic prospect of electrification to the south west, the piecemeal approach to bus travel such as the £2 fare cap, extended a few times at short notice and then increased to £3 with no indication of what will happen after the end of 2025 etc.
Comparisons have been made with other countries, particularly in Europe and how, generally, many other countries have much more coherent long term plans that result in better public transport at much lower cost to the taxpayer. For those who are interested in this subject, I suggest reading a blog by Thomas Ableman on his Freewheeling website. It compares the systems in Switzerland (generally considered to have the best rail system in Europe) and France (good urban transport systems) and suggests that we could do well by trying to emulate them.