In Defence Of Ken

Ken Livingstone. the Londoner's favourite whipping boy. Charged with raising taxes, spending without limits, increasing bureaucracy, associating with dodgy individuals and causes and now linked with corruption.

Yesterday I bought my annual travelcard on my Oyster. And reflected that it was Ken who changed the travelcard rules so that any bus trip in the London area was covered by any travelcard. So, stuck out in Zone 4 as I am, away from any train or tube, I would have previously paid over £1300.

But since I only use the train and tube in Zones 1 and 2 in my daily commute, I paid £930 instead. Ken Livingstone has saved me £400 a year. So he gets my vote. How terribly Conservative of me.