It should be clear where the blame for last night's violence lies

Trumpeter Lanfried

It's not the RMT, most of whose members probably voted for Boris. It's just Bob Crow; an unreconstructed trade unionist from the 1970s. We shall be seeing a lot more like him in the months ahead.

Chuck Unsworth

Let's not even begin to suppose that the RMT has the slightest concept of morality.

Austin Barry

It is of course absurd to blame Boris for the unintended consequence of a measure designed precisely to prevent the kind of yob-eruption, if on a smaller scale, seen last night. As a former member of the Communist Party, Comrade Bob Crow will of course be having a pop at Boris at every opportunity and no doubt strikes will be called with corresponding frequency. Pathetic.

Teddy Lebrecht

The genie is out of the bottle. People in this country enjoy drinking until they can't walk straight, it liberates them. The idea that the rest of Europe is content with an ice cream on a Saturday night is becoming outdated. I've read that in France, Italy and Spain young people are also drinking to get very drunk.

David

Still, it was nice of a bunch of morons to come and help prove that Boris was right.

Max Kaye

I suppose that Crow is upset that his members can't drink while on LU property (not an unknown phenomenon)

kinglear

Absolutely - and goes to show how necessary the ban is. And how bad people like Bob Crow are in terms of enticing people to behave badly " It's not your fault it's that other blokes."

David Boycott

Clearly, the perpetrators are to blame. However, it is also clear than new legislation always has unintended consequences and should be avoided unless demonstrably necessary. In addition, this is another instance of the Lawson Effect, where announcing in advance the proposed change has had negative consequences.

Chris

I was wondering which twerps would get there firstest with the stupidest.

Pathetic Perry : s’not my fault is it guv?

Nah – it ain’t my fault guv – it’s that bleedin’ Boris wot made me do it.

‘Sides which, it’s me ‘uman roights in it?

Oy! where’s me lawya?

Nicholas

And so it begins, the Left's concerted attack against Boris using all the dirty and subversive tricks that hallmark their history.

Richard

I'm actually glad Bob Crow has done this. Highly visible, obviously absurd and malicious union leaders are very good news for the Tories.

Verity

Nicholas - You speak the truth. The toxic left, fuelled with hatred, is going to try to destroy Boris and wreck his mayoralty.

We will see which prevails. Brains or brawn. Margaret Thatcher bested the miners of similar ilk.

I find the English drinking on public transport absolutely repulsive (I speak as someone who drinks - in houses or proper premises). Can't these people wait until they get to their destination to have a drink?

Tim Roberts

'similar ilk' - use of this expression requires a licence from the Department of Redundancy Department.

Praguetory

Useful warning from Crow - they'll try anything.

Perry : [OT] - Topsy-Turvey World pt 2 : Crewe & Nantwich recount!!

Good news for all Progressive Thinking People!!

The Beloved Leader has spent the weekend, not, as the majority of people, in idleness, - or drunkenness FORCED on them by the oppressive Mayor of London - but personally recounting the votes in the C&N by-election.

Mz. Prudence of Noo-Lying-Bores, then manipulated the figures using similar formulae to those employed to bring the country to the state it is today. International observers from N. Korea and Zimbabwe, together with carefully chosen progressive academics (sic) from progressive universities (sic) were on hand to verify the Correct Result.

It should surprise no one that it was found that Baroness DimWiddy of Noo-Boring-Liars won the election with a majority of more than 20,000. Steps are in hand to immediately end the cruel right-wing oppression of the people in the constituency. The Beloved Leader, already leading the polls (see posts of 30 May 08), will address the Nation by radio for at least two hours from 7am Monday 2 June. The broadcast will be interspersed with carefully scripted spontaneous questions from obsequious interviewers.

Further questions or discussion, unless adulatory, will not be tolerated. The original count tellers and supervisors will begin compulsory remedial classes in Crewe Town Hall immediately after the conclusion of the Beloved Leader’s broadcast.

The EU Commissars have sent a telegram of congratulation. It reads : ‘Well done Lackey Gordon’. [However, it is believed there was a mistake in translation.]

Ian Rees

It is fairly evident that Bob Crow is more interested in political posturing and the safety of his 'staff' than he is in the safety of his customers. 'One in the eye for Boris' is also 'one in the eye for anyone who is intimidated by my right to be abusive.'

John Miller

"Tube driver beaten up by drunk on the Circle Line" "Bob Crow says he supports drinking on the Tube" That'd be an intersting juxatposition of headlines, would it not?

Augustus

These are not civilized people but abusive louts with nothing better to do than destroy society. In this age of face scanning technology it should be possible to ban the perpetrators from using the tube network ever again.

As for Boris, he should press on with his reforms and not be intimidated by loony left remarks.

Austin Barry

Tim, you mean like the second "Department" in your post, or is that an ironic tautology?

RW

Perhaps Crow sees himself as the new Arthur Scargill? Surely even he must be able to judge how far the public mood has changed since then. What's clear is that this has given Boris a valuable PR boost which he should exploit to the full.

Paul B

Good point, well made James.

Whilst on the subject of personal responsibility I would recommend the Speccies very own Rod Liddles excellent column in todays Sunday Times. Where he muses on the subject of Victoria Climbie. Mel P would be proud of our Rodney, I can praise him no higher.

Paul B

Link for the Liddles article
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/rod_liddle/article4039884.ece

Stewart

I was travelling on the District line last night on my way to a different party with some CLOSED containers of alcohol in my possession and witnessed a few carriages full of drinkers on the Circle. It seemed to be a mix of students, punks, and 'Islington' 20-30 year olds based on fashions and the glaikit expressions on their coupons. Some seemed to be there for the novelty, others with more serious expressions and somewhat forced 'woo hoos' were perhaps there primarilly for protest at Boris if not his policy. I wonder if there was any attempt to 'manufacture' trouble other than that which was likely to occur as a result of large numbers of drinkers in confined, erratically mobile spaces. Does anyone know if there were other groups involved in the planning of this event? I wholly agree that the trouble makers are entirely to blame for the unsavoury scenes last night. Crow's comments in the lead up to last night probably only served to put ideas into the heads of some who would not normally go in for such antics. He is a disgrace.

John

"In addition, this is another instance of the Lawson Effect, where announcing in advance the proposed change has had negative consequences" -

Bob Crow mentality par excellence. I suppose you are OK with regulations being imposed at 5-seconds notice?

Toxic left - brilliant term, just right!

salieri

Might the government finally - instead of pontificating about young people needing only 'more awareness' of the evils of 'binge-drinking' - accept the simple fact that there are some people who do not wish to be 'educated' and whose idea of a good night out is to lie unconscious in puddles of lager, urine and vomit? When will it stop to question its facile faith in 'awareness campaigns' which cost ever more millions and achieve nothing?

May we now, Mr. Mayor, see fewer of those imbecilic posters all over the Underground warning people to 'mind how you go when you've had a few'?

And when will those in power understand more generally that their prescriptive advice is (unlike proscription) not only useless but counter-productive? Who do they honestly think is going to behave better in public in case they might be cautioned for "repetitive possession of alcohol"?

Forget the pusillanimous patronisation - just hire a few bloody policemen and bring people up before the beak, after a night in the cells, on a charge of drunk and disorderly.

Perry

@ salieri

Well said, salieri

Nicholas

I see that another Crow of the Left, this time ghastly "Crow Boy" Jack Straw of the Orwellian named New Labour invention the Ministry of Justice, has announced yet more legislation as a vanguard to new proposals to tackle the problems of binge drinking. This legislation sets out to make it an offence for under age persons to be "persistently" in possession of alcohol in a public place (in other words more than once). In addition, persistent offences may result in a parenting order.

This is more Labour nonsense. It is not the possession or the drinking but the behaviour afterwards. There are already perfectly good laws, Breach of the Queen's Peace, Disorderly Conduct, etc., which are not enforced, probably because New Labour's State Police have forgotten they exist in their eagerness to substitute social work for watch and ward duties or because the Crown Prosecution Service are too stupid to understand what they mean.

New Labour just don't get it that more badly drafted legislation is no substitute for the proper enforcement of existing laws.

We have two years more of knee-jerk, rampant eye of the needle legislation to look forward to from a government that seems incapable of doing anything other than passing new laws in order to "govern".

Paul L

Perry - what has your Crewe recount posting got to do with Bob Crow's comments?

Nick

I really cannot understand how anyone can possibly be against the ban on alcohol on the Tube and buses in London. Good on you Boris, we need to crack down on these yobs (like Bob Crow it seems).

Anon

From what I saw on BBC and Sky those were more than disgraceful scenes last night. What struck me more than anything was how self-aware these people were in their bestiality. The second thing I noticed, being a resident of London, is that they appeared to be almost exclusively white, native English, and, judging by their attire and general grooming, probably white collar workers. This was no “tiny minority spoiling it for everyone else”. This is the majority of a generation.

TrevorH

The really worrying thing about all of this is that if the Great Broon notices that dim people have got money to waste in this pointless way then he will feel there is scope for relieving us of more of it.

JohnT

Even when the time and place of the party were publicly known, the London Transport Police announced blithely that there were 'no plans' to address the event with any extra policing. After four train drivers, three other London Underground staff and two police officers had been assaulted, and several trains so damaged that they had to be taken out of service, a London Transport spokesman said
"This was an unfortunate end to what should have been a fun event."
By what stretch of the imagination was this ever going to be a 'fun event'? I notice the police are always quick to say that something 'went tragically wrong' when in fact only a clueless numpty with zero life experience would have predicted anything but a bloodbath. Why no adequate police response?
Boris, a few sackings are needed.

Judge Elvis

It reminded me of the Poll Tax riots in a way in that it was the political activists, such as Militant, that led the riots and not the ordinary people, but heaven forbid the BBC or any of the other media outlets point ths out...

London Calling

What a bunch of Losers....

The idiots who thought they were really making a point by getting loaded and trashing the tube, spitting like drinking hooligans with two fingers up to us all, followed by Bob Crow, or should I say crossbow, who knows it was only for one day, so it was safe for him to criticise the drinking ban, yet I think Crow would be crowing a different tune if he had to put up with it on a regular basis... what a hypocrite.

If those losers were accompanied by some of the down and outs who reek of urine and are quite abusive to the public and transport staff, I am sure they would have felt right at home.

Perry

So many wise words on this page about a sorry and unsettling state of our land, - London perhaps being a particularly difficult wen. All is variously here -

Selfish ‘pleasure’ against public order and decency.
The effects of the few visited upon many.
The futility of bovine passivity and tolerance until too late.
The futility of banal public posturing and the tick-box culture, – pointless but expensive ads, gushing homilies . . ad nauseum
The massage of figures and facts to justify action, - or not
The intrusion of left-wing dogma to justify action – or not
The abandoned waste of money that many in the world, even in this country, would much appreciate. And yes, the beloved leader will not have missed that.
And so on . . and on . . .

What depressing moralising relativistic claptrap I tell myself. But then I come to, and feel sure that Boris’ decision to end it all was correct. His ‘feel’ for pointing out and turning back what is awry seems unerring, - and he has so much more work to do.

Frank Pulley

salieri

'Forget the pusillanimous patronisation - just hire a few bloody policemen and bring people up before the beak, after a night in the cells, on a charge of drunk and disorderly.' Used to work, didn't it?

They are looking for replacement
for the current Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis. Apply immediately!

Tim Parker, Sydney

And I thought all the unreconstructed trade unionists had fled to practice their ancient arts here in Australia. But any reminder of po faced union lunacy has to be good for Boris/Dave, just as it's damaging our "new" Labor leader Mr Rudd who's now reaping the whirlwind of a union-backed election victory.

Chris

What a nasty snide little piece. Boris's booze ban was a timely reminder that the tories are just as nannying and authoritarian as labour. The tube has got along without this ban throughout its history and there's no need for it whatsoever. What more can we expect from a party in which "human rights" are considered a bad thing?

THX1138

I would just like to remind you all that your beloved leader David Cameron was a non executive director of the holding company Urbium plc that owns Tiger Tiger the notorious late night binge drinking bar in Leicester Square

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=403227&in_page_id=2

Before it became politically correct on the right to attack young people going our for a drink (unless of course they are wearing top hats & tails in Oxford) Dave had is snout firmly in the trough of the legal drug dealers.

On the the other hand I agree entirely that the drunken behaviour on the tube & Bob Crowes reaction to it was completely out of order.

david

Oppose bans on public drinking

The new London major's first act was to ban drinking on the Tube. As spiked's Brendan O'Neill points out, one's attitude towards public drinking has long been a test of libertarian spirit. The Manifesto Club supports all those – and there have not been many – who have raised a protest against public drinking bans. These include the organisers of this Circle Line Party against the Tube drinking ban, and David Shariatmadari on Comment is Free; and this petition from the publicans and patrons of Soho, who call on the PM to ‘resist a ban on drinking outside and maintain the liberal culture of Soho’. See also Dolan Cummings' comment against the booze ban in the Manifesto Club Members' Room.

From the Manifesto Club Website.

A founder member of the Manifesto Club, (A Libertarian society) is 'Munira Mirza' who has just been appointed Arts and Culture Supremo by onetime Libertarian,)Now authoritarian) Boris Johnson. Has she informed her boss of her feelings on this matter, will she resign her £80,000 per annum post?