The Great Train Snobbery - Osborne sits in first class on a standard ticket!

[edam]

oh dear, seems second class isn't good enough for Gideon...

She later said: "George Osborne got on the train with aides at Wilmslow and went straight to first class. Then his aide approached the ticket collector right next to me. He said he is travelling with George and he has a standard ticket but can he remain in first class? The guard said no. The aide said Osborne couldn't possibly sit in standard class. The guard replied saying if he wants to stay it's £160. The aide said he couldn't pay and he couldn't really sit in standard. The guard refused to budge. The guard went on gathering tickets and later told me Osborne had agreed to cough up the £160."

The story is being well spun by the government now, but this is what the journalist is saying - Gideon was in a different carriage but the conversation with the Guard took place next to her.

went straight to first class doesn't sound like he had any intention of sitting in standard.

Sounds like a slight variation on 'do you know who I am?

Well if that is all true and I don't think that conversation is how can Osbourne be responsible for a conversation being held in a different carrage?

Maybe the aid should be the one your having a go at.

Another journalist has reported that Gideon and his aide were watching a funny DVD on using shared earphones - not workng at all!

Fine him! then fire him!!!

I find it easier to believe the journo than George Osborne in this instance... she gave a detailed real-time account whereas he (and Virgin) had the chance and, obviously, the motivation to spin the story later.

I have a bit of sympathy for Andrew Mitchell - yes, he was a twat, but he's not the first person to say something he shouldn't have when tired and angry (ever hear the stories about Gordon Brown on a bad day?), and the police shouldn't have leaked it. Osborne, however, or his aide, was blatantly trying it on.

I say well done that guard. Good for him, standing up to 'don't you know who my boss is, someone jolly important to whom the rules do not apply'.

There are striking similarities with Mitchell - would have been a much smaller story but for that coincidence. Both are about ministers being arrogant, expecting that the rules apply only to little people, not them. At least Osborne didn't swear - but then, he didn't deal with the guard himself, he got his staff to do that.

Gideon has form for this. He was caught in Mayndoing the exact same thing I.e. buying a second class ticket then sitting in first without paying the upgrade. Unfortunately for him this time an ITV reporter was in the next carriage and witnessed the whole incident.

ooh, that's interesting slug, he's a repeat fare-dodger!

There are regular stories in my local paper about people being fined or slung out for travelling in first class on a standard ticket - I remember a couple about pregnant women on packed trains where not only are there no seats free in standard, you can't even get near enough to the seats for someone to get up for you. There's always a few people in the court reports being fined, alongside the drink driving and shoplifting.

I have the misfortune to live in Mr Osborne's constitutency. As for why he was heading back to London from here, I'm absolutely certain he doesn't live here. He lives in 11 Downing St doesn't he? He probably has an apartment up here for overnights during the week on constituency business. But Tories don't do 'Oop North' if they can help it - far too many flat caps and whippets for them and God forbid they'd raise their kids here .

Fridays on the west coast mainline route from Manchester to London (Wilmslow is a station en route) are usually completely hectic. I've had to stand all the way to London several times. That said, once when I was only doing a short journey the ticket person did tell me to go and sit in First class which I thought was nice.

Wilmslow's hardly the ghetto though - plenty of WAGS and million-pound houses. Possibly still not posh enough for the heir to a wallpaper empire though.

(You are a bit unfortunate in your choice of MPs though, wasn't Neil Hamilton the former member for that area - the guy who was taking cash in brown envelopes from the owner of Harrods?)

did anyone hear the Today program this morning? I was half asleep, but wasn't there a police officer interviewed who said that there was another incident with Andrew Mitchell where he refused to say what had happened, thus impeding the police investigation.

I could be absolutely wrong about this...

Andrew Mitchell is absolutely notorious in Whitehall, which may explain why he's been hounded like this. You really have to be careful who you stamp on on the way up...

interesting, ilovemydog.

Devora, yes, that's what I'd heard.

[http://vimeo.com/51777975 here's the report from the journalist herself ]]

vimeo.com/51777975

Sorry

Hope the ticket inspector doesn't get a hard time from Virgin.

Looks like he was working hard...not!

Why would the inspector get a hard time from Virgin? He was doing his job!

And reporter says he was very polite.

Yeah, the old 'ooh, he's the Chancellor, he needs to work' excuse is not looking quite so convincing now, is it?

But she also repeated a comment he made about paying Gideon a lot so nice to take a lot back.

Interesting if we paid for the upgrade...