If freezing rail fares is vital for cutting the cost of living, why are transport costs in London rising sharply? Asks James Ford

As part of his latest, desperate relaunch, beleaguered Prime Minister Keir Starmer has vowed to focus on cutting the cost of living for Britons this year. One of the key planks of this in 2026 is the much-vaunted commitment to freeze national rail fares – the first such freeze in 30 years.

Labour’s man in City Hall, however, clearly did not get the memo about freezing fares. Whilst commuters travelling from Milton Keynes to London are set to save £315 a year, passengers in London travelling between Morden, Muswell Hill and Maida Vale will see their transport costs rise across the board. Mayor Sadiq Khan has just hiked the congestion charge by 20 per cent. Tube fares will rise by an average of 5.8 per cent from March and bus fares will go up in July. And nor are these fare hikes a one off. TfL fares will rise by more than the rate of inflation (RPI one per cent) every single year until 2030.

Why is London heading in the opposite direction to the rest of the........

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