It is hard not to be cynical when, with the Prime Minister a proven liar and law-breaker and further Partygate revelations expected this week, his government ministers keep reaching into public funds to find distractions and enticements for the public.
First, there was the dog-whistle refugee deal with Rwanda announced last Thursday, presented by Priti Patel (“Enoch Powell with an Instagram account” as one commenter described her), a crass attempt to get the blood rushing to the puce cheeks of gammons and Brexiteers across the country.
That was “Dead Cat 1”. Today, we have “Dead Cat 2”, 1million half-price rail tickets for a month into May… The Tories’ faith in their ability to bribe the British public with their own money never fails.
All aboard: the ticket offer is for journeys from Apr 25 to May 27
A press release from the Department for Transport states, “The public is encouraged to take advantage of this unprecedented sale, which sees for the first time multiple operators come together to offer nationwide savings.”
Exactly the kind of thing that would always be possible under a nationalised railway system, and exactly the kind of thing that transport minister Grant Shapps and other apologists for the private rail operators usually claim is impossible.
Among the ticket savings being offered:
- London to Edinburgh: was £44, NOW £22
- London to Cardiff: was £47, NOW £25
- Portsmouth Harbour to Penzance was £45.70, NOW £22.00
According to DfT: “Cutting the cost of rail travel will help ease some of the pressure on family finances at a time when inflation is rising around the world.” Our itals. Note the propagandist deflection – soaring inflation is not a consequence of this government’s actions over fuel bills and Brexit… oh no.
Jacqueline Starr, the CEO of the Rail Delivery Group, said, “As part of the Great British Rail Sale, customers will enjoy over 1million discounted tickets, so they can explore some of the fantastic locations that are accessible by rail.”
Tickets can be purchased online from www.nationalrail.co.uk/railsale with the reduced rate applying to off-peak tickets spreading the length and breadth of the country. Tickets go on sale from today with discounted tickets available on journeys from April 25 to May 27.
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Maybe he is just trying to cut the casualties on his “smart” motorways!
Labour introduced ‘Smart Motorways’ and, tragically, no one really objected then
But I can’t buy a discounted ticket for a journey that I want to make (Lancaster to Milton Keynes), only the journeys that ‘THEY’ think I should be making …….. not very useful at all.
Priti Patel may be a racist, as you suggest, but her Rwanda deal is no different to that actively pursued by Tony Bliar in 2004. Well, the difference is that he was keen on setting up a camp in Tanzania, as the BBC headline then read, “Tony Blair has confirmed talks are underway with Tanzania about UK officials handling asylum claims there.”