Tweet
George Osborne in 'row with train ticket inspector over first-class upgrade'
Aide is said to have told inspector chancellor 'could not possibly' sit in standard class but would not pay £160 to sit in first class
George Osborne, who is said to have gone straight to sit in first class despite having paid for a standard ticket. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
The chancellor, George Osborne, has refused to comment on reports that he tried to sit in first class on board a Virgin train from Cheshire despite only having paid for a standard ticket.
As he disembarked at London's Euston station and found himself greeted by a small posse of reporters and photographers, Osborne smiled grimly and declined to answer questions fired at him by journalists and Labour party and student activists.
Asked if reports suggesting he had bought a standard-class ticket but had sat in first class were correct, he replied: "I'm sure it will be, um …"
The chancellor appeared increasingly awkward as his minders and members of Network Rail staff ushered him through a security gate and in the direction of a government car.
Osborne found himself at the centre of a Twitter storm after his apparently innocuous arrival on the 15.11 from Wilmslow was spotted by an ITV journalist also on board. Rachel Townsend posted reports on Twitter that, despite having a standard ticket, the Chancellor had gone directly to sit in a first-class carriage.
A stream of Townsend's messages reported that an aide for Osborne had approached a ticket inspector and informed him that "Osborne couldn't possibly" sit in standard class.
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."
A spokesman for Virgin Trains said Osborne had not been personally involved in any of the discussions. "The chancellor was in first class with a standard-class ticket. It wasn't a dispute or even a discussion with him. An aide of his spoke to the train manager and asked to pay the upgrade. We're not aware of any dispute." Another spokesman later clarified that the interlocutor was understood to be a Metropolitan police officer accompanying Osborne.
Osborne might have hoped the incident would go unnoticed. But, thanks to Townsend's Tweets documenting every step of the contretemps, he found himself being derided online before he had even disembarked from the train. Within an hour of the news breaking, "George Osborne", "Euston" and the hashtag #osbornefilms were all trending on Twitter.
Suggestions for the latter included The Great Train Snobbery, The Never-Spending Tory, Trainsquatting and My Fare, Lady.
Fellow passengers were unimpressed with the reports. "Fair's fair. He should be serving the taxpayer money but definitely he shouldn't be sitting in first," said Justin Bateman, 34, a civil servant from Manchester. Keith Young, 60, a doctor from London, agreed. "Standard was busy and the Chancellor would not have been able to sit alongside his aides, but he would have been able to occupy a single seat alongside the other passengers." He added: "It's one rule for them and one rule for us. He had no right to make a stand against paying an upgrade."
Last year, the Conservative mayor of London, Boris Johnson, launched a scathing attack on what he called the "parasitic scourge" of fare-dodgers in London.
The Treasury has not yet responded to the Guardian's request for comment.
Virgin said the total paid was £189.50, but said it was unclear whether that was the price of an upgrade, or whether Osborne had had to pay for an entirely new ticket.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/oct/19/george-osborne-inspector-train-ticket
Aide is said to have told inspector chancellor 'could not possibly' sit in standard class but would not pay £160 to sit in first class
George Osborne, who is said to have gone straight to sit in first class despite having paid for a standard ticket. Photograph: Matt Cardy/Getty ImagesThe chancellor, George Osborne, has refused to comment on reports that he tried to sit in first class on board a Virgin train from Cheshire despite only having paid for a standard ticket.
As he disembarked at London's Euston station and found himself greeted by a small posse of reporters and photographers, Osborne smiled grimly and declined to answer questions fired at him by journalists and Labour party and student activists.
Asked if reports suggesting he had bought a standard-class ticket but had sat in first class were correct, he replied: "I'm sure it will be, um …"
The chancellor appeared increasingly awkward as his minders and members of Network Rail staff ushered him through a security gate and in the direction of a government car.
Osborne found himself at the centre of a Twitter storm after his apparently innocuous arrival on the 15.11 from Wilmslow was spotted by an ITV journalist also on board. Rachel Townsend posted reports on Twitter that, despite having a standard ticket, the Chancellor had gone directly to sit in a first-class carriage.
A stream of Townsend's messages reported that an aide for Osborne had approached a ticket inspector and informed him that "Osborne couldn't possibly" sit in standard class.
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."
A spokesman for Virgin Trains said Osborne had not been personally involved in any of the discussions. "The chancellor was in first class with a standard-class ticket. It wasn't a dispute or even a discussion with him. An aide of his spoke to the train manager and asked to pay the upgrade. We're not aware of any dispute." Another spokesman later clarified that the interlocutor was understood to be a Metropolitan police officer accompanying Osborne.
Osborne might have hoped the incident would go unnoticed. But, thanks to Townsend's Tweets documenting every step of the contretemps, he found himself being derided online before he had even disembarked from the train. Within an hour of the news breaking, "George Osborne", "Euston" and the hashtag #osbornefilms were all trending on Twitter.
Suggestions for the latter included The Great Train Snobbery, The Never-Spending Tory, Trainsquatting and My Fare, Lady.
Fellow passengers were unimpressed with the reports. "Fair's fair. He should be serving the taxpayer money but definitely he shouldn't be sitting in first," said Justin Bateman, 34, a civil servant from Manchester. Keith Young, 60, a doctor from London, agreed. "Standard was busy and the Chancellor would not have been able to sit alongside his aides, but he would have been able to occupy a single seat alongside the other passengers." He added: "It's one rule for them and one rule for us. He had no right to make a stand against paying an upgrade."
Last year, the Conservative mayor of London, Boris Johnson, launched a scathing attack on what he called the "parasitic scourge" of fare-dodgers in London.
The Treasury has not yet responded to the Guardian's request for comment.
Virgin said the total paid was £189.50, but said it was unclear whether that was the price of an upgrade, or whether Osborne had had to pay for an entirely new ticket.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/oct/19/george-osborne-inspector-train-ticket
Comment