It’s Budget day tomorrow and there’s growing concern among Tories that the Chancellor may be about to bungle the Budget. Only rather than housing, the NHS or education, the issue that has got everyone hot and bothered is a plan for an 18-30 railcard.
Nicknamed the millennials’ card, the Chancellor is expected to announce that discounted train travel will be extended to people up to 30-years-old. Currently, the young persons’ railcard – which costs about £30 and means a third off ticket fares – is just for the 16-25 age bracket. The move comes after a trial of the 26-30 year-olds card took place in East Anglia which led the Treasury to believe the policy will be revenue neutral.
So far, so good? Apparently not. The plans have been decried as bad policy all over the shop. There’s those who think it amounts to a bribe to young people (though even if it is a ‘bribe’, it’s a hell of a lot cheaper than Labour’s £11.2bn
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