Our news editor was leafleted by Labour right-winger Sadiq Khan’s election team on his way in to work. Khan is standing for London mayor, and transport is a centrepiece of his campaign.
Commuting in the capital is extortionate. So what exactly does he propose?
“Freeze all tube and bus fares for four years.”
This is better than hiking them further. But Khan’s own material points out that the cost of travelling from zones one to three has zoomed up by £2,076 since Boris Johnson took power. Why not reverse the hikes, and end the misery rather than maintaining it?
“Fund this freeze through TfL [Transport for London] efficiency savings and reserves.”
Ah, “efficiency savings” – the flimsy old euphemism for cuts. Sack the staff, knacker the infrastructure, sell the assets.
Temporarily spending reserves, on the other hand, can make sense. But that’s if – like the Socialist Party – you have a strategy to win the money back from central government. Khan doesn’t seem to.
