The
"Traingate" tale has filled the media and the web with fun of many
kinds. So Jeremy Corbyn's media advisers
and PR decide to pull a train stunt to beef up the long and boring proposal to "renationalise"
the railways. Given the amount of state money, regulation and franchise details involved the private bit does
seem on the small side.
But doh! Trains these days have modern surveillance
systems that allow wide coverage of who travels and how. Also, they are full of people with gizmo's
that might allow a fellow traveller to reach out to the world all at the push
of a few buttons. If Jeremy had done an
imitation of Luke Kelly of The Dubliners singing "Paddy On The
Railway" it would have gone world wide in minutes.
The Youtube
clip of this one is from The Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, but perhaps Jeremy is
more James Joyce, G.B. Shaw or W.B. Yeats than
Luke. Although, if Shaw he might have tried the song from "My Fair
Lady", "All I want is a room somewhere...." sung plaintively by
Eliza needing houseroom rather than train room.
While on the
entertainment route, the contest between Jeremy and Owen Smith as to who offers
the biggest disaster for the Labour Party is becoming more and more like
something from the old "Steptoe And Son" TV series from the
past. This is where father Albert and
son Harold argue about everything, often politics and policy, such as "Tea
For Two" from 1970.
The blissful
unreality of their debates and beliefs given what happened during the 70's is a
poignant reminder that today's notions, or rather yesterday's polished up for
the media and an electorate with a dislike of change are no better. If the Steptoe's were misinformed and
determined to impose a past on the future, they were well short of Corbyn and
Smith.
There is the
question of who the current franchisers are in the discussions of ownership of
the railways. One is Deutsche
Bundesbahn, touted as the best and most efficient of systems. But those of us who take a look at German
news now see an increasing number of accidents and crashes. All that one time German efficiency is a
thing of the past and it is beginning to show.
So if either
Jeremy or Owen start talking about the German model as to the one to go for it
may be time to check the coach services out on line.
At least you
won't get politicians pulling stunts next to the toilets.
Now mix all this in with driverless trains and trains which have to think for themselves when to open doors and there's a comedy programme for the BBC.
ReplyDeleteI recently stumbled across a fine episode (The Lead Man Cometh) of Steptoe And Son which neatly illustrates your point.
ReplyDeleteA dodgy character (Leonard Rossiter) offers them a load of cheap scrap lead. Father and son argue about how legitimate the lead is while all the time it is being nicked from their own roof. They only find out when the rain comes.