Re: George Osbourne should have been a "pleb" : Sat Oct 20, 2012 6:50 pm  

cod'ead wrote:

I understood that Osborne himself had mandated that all civil servants, including MPs, should travel at standard fare, if they wanted to travel 1st class, they had to pay the difference.

Yup he did, We're all in it together dontcha know. Just some less in it than others.

Re: George Osbourne should have been a "pleb" : Mon Oct 22, 2012 10:41 am  

Turns out to be the complete non-story it was always going to be:

Virgin Trains wrote:

"The situation was dealt with amicably between the train manager and George Osborne's aide. At no time was there a disagreement or a refusal to pay for the upgrade. Nor was there any discussion between the train manager and Mr Osborne."

Re: George Osbourne should have been a "pleb" : Mon Oct 22, 2012 10:59 am  

I think it's more the bare faced cheek of trying to get away with sitting in first class without paying the first class fare. If his advisor had immediately paid the upgrade price instead of trying to get away without paying it and hadn't said things like he "can't possibly sit in standard class" then it wouldn't even have been remarked upon in the first place.

Re: George Osbourne should have been a "pleb" : Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:35 am  

Him wrote:

I think it's more the bare faced cheek of trying to get away with sitting in first class without paying the first class fare. If his advisor had immediately paid the upgrade price instead of trying to get away without paying it and hadn't said things like he "can't possibly sit in standard class" then it wouldn't even have been remarked upon in the first place.

And that is the disagreement.

According to statements from his police close protection officer and Virgin Trains he didn't try and avoid the fare. The whole thing seems to have been fuelled by an over-excited journo and mass reverse-snobbery.

Re: George Osbourne should have been a "pleb" : Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:43 am  

The Video Ref wrote:

And that is the disagreement.

According to statements from his police close protection officer and Virgin Trains he didn't try and avoid the fare. The whole thing seems to have been fuelled by an over-excited journo and mass reverse-snobbery.

I haven't seen what his CPO has said, but that statement from Virgin Trains doesn't discount the journo's statement. It says there was no refusal to pay. It doesn't say there was no attempt to avoid payment. Which is what the journo's statement says, along with Osborne's refusal to sit in standard.

Re: George Osbourne should have been a "pleb" : Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:55 am  

The Video Ref wrote:

And that is the disagreement.

According to statements from his police close protection officer and Virgin Trains he didn't try and avoid the fare. The whole thing seems to have been fuelled by an over-excited journo and mass reverse-snobbery.

I don't understand why the CPO didn't speak to someone at the station and get it all arranged beforehand then. If there was genuinely a security issue, surely they should have at least done that? I understand Osborne wasn't planning to get that particular train but CPOs do have phones and can speak to people. Its not rocket surgery.

I got on a train at Stockport during the 2010 election campaign, with a first class ticket, but Brown's team had basically taken over the carriage that I was booked in "for security reasons" and there were 2 coppers preventing entry at either end. I would suggest that no matter how unpopular Brown was, that Osborne is perhaps more so, so if security is an issue, the CPO should have at least done something.

Re: George Osbourne should have been a "pleb" : Mon Oct 22, 2012 11:57 am  

And if this was Ed Milliband instead?

Re: George Osbourne should have been a "pleb" : Mon Oct 22, 2012 12:00 pm  

Horatio Yed wrote:

And if this was Ed Milliband instead?

Exactly the same treatment for mine.

Re: George Osbourne should have been a "pleb" : Mon Oct 22, 2012 12:00 pm  

Horatio Yed wrote:

And if this was Ed Milliband instead?

Trying to get away without paying the proper fare? Then he'd be a pillock too.

Re: George Osbourne should have been a "pleb" : Mon Oct 22, 2012 12:04 pm  

Horatio Yed wrote:

And if this was Ed Milliband instead?

Fook all would have happened. Everyone knows that if Labour were in the economy would be tickety boo, we would have near full employment and the masses would have bags of cash to p155 up the wall at the boozer and bookies every weekend.