Oh dear. Boris has just had to announce a bunch of inflation-busting fare increases for public transport in London. From January, the congestion charge will be up by 25 percent, Oyster card fares will have 20p added to them, 7-day bus passes will cost just under £3 more – and so on, and so on. To be fair, we shouldn’t be too surprised at these kinds of hikes. This is a recession, after all, and City Hall are currently struggling to deal with the black hole in the transport budget left over from the Livingstone days. Boris himself sets out a persuasive defence of the measures in today’s Evening Standard.
You wonder what on-looking Cameroons are making of it all. Many Tories that I speak to think that Boris has done a decent enough job of implementing a waste-cutting agenda, and of showing that costs can be cut without negatively impacting services.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in