The anger that greeted the hike in rail fares yesterday once again caught the Tories on the back foot. Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, eventually popped up from Qatar to say that he too was annoyed at the rise in ticket prices. But it was too late: Labour had spent much of the day making hay among fed-up commuters.
Grayling’s absence ‘left the field clear’ for Labour to ‘exploit popular anger’ and ‘promote the party’s policy of renationalising the train network’, says the Daily Telegraph. Government ministers who could respond to Labour ‘were thin on the ground’, but the Tories have no excuse for the glacial speed of their reaction: the ticket price rise ‘had been apparent ever since July’s inflation figures’, points out the Telegraph. Already then it is clear that, in 2018, ‘Theresa May’s Government is in no different a predicament than before’.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in