Minister Uses £80,000 Limo As Commuter Prices Soar

[ChillDoubt]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/politics/4728803/Railways-ministers-80000-limo-bill.html

We're all in this together though eh? And yes, I know the link is from The Scum but it's being widely reported via all media this a.m, it's just this is the only decent link at present.

Surely not more Tory ministers out of touch?

[tonyav]

Remember ' On Yer Bike ' Tebbit.

[Zacs-Master]

It's not an £80k limo. The £80k is,reportedly, the yearly bill according to the sun. The 'limo' is actually a Toyota Avensis. Not my idea of a limo. The DM goes into a little more detail reporting that an ever reliable 'spokesman' had commented:
But a spokesman was unable to say what proportion of that was accounted for by Mr Burns’ daily commute, only that: ‘The car can be used throughout the day by different Ministers.’
Always good to look behind the headlines.

[ChillDoubt]

I believe limo is used just as a generic term for a government car Zacs-Master. Whatever the vehicle is it's going to be plush luxury in comparison to public transport isn't it?

[Zacs-Master]

I have never heard of limo being used as a generic term for a government car but that's not to say your wrong. There's a bit of difference between your headline statement that it was an £80k vehicle and the actual £25k one.

[ChillDoubt]

Splitting hairs again. The car and the cost of running it are in the region of £80,000. Are you a Conservative? I have to ask as you appear to be diverting away from the fact that the Railway's Minister doesn't want to suffer the trials and tribulations of commuter transport with the hoi-polloi, obviously not wishing to incur the wrath of his fellow passengers who've had their costs increased every year for the past 10.
Another story of a 'don't do as I do, do as I say' minister completely out of touch with the general public he serves?

Isn't that the real story?

[Sqad]

What is it with us Brits, we like to see everything and everybody equal.....no perks for anyone.
Yes, i know we pay for him as tax payers, but do we really want our ministers on the 8.35 from wherever, dealing with cabinet matters and highly confidential papers.
I don't.

If i was in the cabinet of the Government of the day....I would use a bloody chauffeur............wouldn't you?

[ChillDoubt]

But these are times of austerity for all Sqad, we're all in this together aren't we?
How can a government minister extoll the virtues of commuter transport and all its 'comforts' whilst deeming it unfit for his own general purposes i.e. taking the train into London like thousands of other have to?

[ChillDoubt]

Furthermore, this is the Railway's Minister we're talking about. He's hardly going to be carrying the nuclear launch codes in his attache case!

[Sqad]

Chilli.....not the point..."Do what I say not what i do"

There will always be privileged and non privileged, even in Russia at the height of Communism.

Mrs (now Lady) Prescott, took a chauffeur driven car to the Labour Party conference so that her hairdo would remain intact........fine by me...she was the deputy Prime minister's wife.

[buildersmate]

You really are out of touch with the realities of life, Chill.

Just Chill-out and stop whining about nothing.

[Zacs-Master]

When I see the actual facts and figures of the daily commute and not some politically motivated spin, then I will cease my criticism of your very misleading post and Tory ministers who are allegedly out of touch.
I ally myself to no particular political party. But I do like cold hard facts.

[TheNovice]

there's nothing stopping anyone else getting off the train and driving in to work is there? Yet another storm in a teacup!! Let's not forget the Socialist Lord ('I'll never accept a peerage') Two Jags Prescott and his wife's hairdresser trips in a 'chauffer driven limo'!!! We might ormight not be in this together but as Sqad says should we expect cabinet ministers to commute by train.....lets think about the extra security costs if they do plus putting a driver out of work!!!

[ChillDoubt]

As someone who works in the NHS I'm very much in touch with the realities of life buildersmate, I'm just pointing out the hypocrisy of this whole situation when everyone is expected to tighten their belts and expected to do more on an ever decreasing budget whilst foregoing pay rises etc.

As I said, a government minister out of touch with reality.

[jno]

it seems the Sun has got it wrong. It doesn't cost us £80k a year to get Burns to work; it's the cost of the car itself and is spread among diffeerent ministers. It may cost us only £30k to get him to work.

However, I do agree the railways minister ought to travel by train (not necessarily every day; he's minister for all transport, not just trains). If doing this is so crowded and hazardous to government files, then he ought to be doing something about it rather than just reading about it.

*

[anotheoldgit]

ChillDoubt

Obviously you are trying to make a party political point out of this, are you naive enough to think such things would be different under a Labour Government? Their record on expenses has very much to be desired.

[China Doll]

I tend to agree with jno. I would certainly like to see the transport minister using public transport on a regular (although not daily obviously) basis... particularly during the morning commute, and from different locations in the country. It is a key area of contention for a lot of people and I do think as transport minister, he should be seen to be exploring the problem, which would mean experiencing it for himself rather than behind a desk via many pieces of paper.

[ChillDoubt]

anotheoldgit,
Having NEVER voted in 29 years of eligibilty to do so I'm making no party political statement of this.
The vast majority of politicians appear decent, obviously there are some who are in for what they can get but when a government is preaching austerity I'm sure it wouldn't hurt the Minister for Railways to actually use the public transport he is responsible for. Only then may he gauge the feeling of ordinary commuters and face their questions over reliability, cost, standard etc.
He's not going to do that from the back of a car, is he? What does he fear? Being late for work? Becoming a victim of crime?
If he actually experiences public transport he may feel compelled to act on the very genuine concerns of the general public who use the service and feel somewhat ripped off by it.

[EcclesCake]

I would have thought the back of the car was a perfect place to work. Time well spent on teleconferences and reading documents.

I really do feel the media have blown this out of all proportion.

[Zacs-Master]

Why have you never voted?

[ChillDoubt]

Why have I never voted?

Politicians mainly!