Evening Standard: "It's Ken's fault... What do you think Boris?"

The Evening Standard has launched into full defensive mode today.

Here is the news:

"Tube and bus fares will rise by up to 10 per cent in the new year, [London Mayor] Boris Johnson announced today.

The price of taking a bus with Oyster pay-as-you-go will increase by slightly more, from 90p to £1, in January.

Underground passengers in the morning rush hour will pay £1.60 - a 10p increase - for a zone one journey and from £2 to £2.20 if they venture into zone two on pay-as-you-go. Trains and daily and weekly travel cards will also go up by more than the rate of inflation."

In the main article the Standard uses half the space to allow Johnson to blame former mayor Ken Livingstone for ""cynical and irresponsible" pre-election cash freezes" and then generously provides Livingstone with just one line to defend himself - completely cutting out his core arguments.

The Leader comment then goes on a full-out assault against Livingstone:

"But we should be in no doubt about where the real blame lies: with Mr Johnson's predecessor, Ken Livingstone."

Finally, just for balance, Boris Johnson himself is given a column in the paper to justify the rise. By blaming Livingstone again.

Saying that, right-to-reply has never been an Evening Standard strong point.

Anyway, here is the Livingstone defence that the Standard deemed not worth printing:

"Boris Johnson has lost between £30 and £50 million a year by abandoning the £25 a-day charge on the worst gas guzzlers in the congestion charging zone, he has scrapped the cheap oil deal with Venezuela, costing London £16 million a year, and he may throw away a lot more by abandoning the extension of the congestion charge to Kensington and Chelsea."

Boriswatch.co.uk provides a more in-depth discussion. Click here for more.

Side note: My favourite reader comment on the main Standard article:

"If people worked a bit harder they could maybe afford a car and wouldn't need to worry about taking public transport.
- Henrick, Belgravia, London"

Well that's one solution I suppose...