SuspectUsual
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Almost the full Partridge
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The Conservative Party under Kemi Badenoch
- Thread starter Cowley
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RailUK Forums
He’s got a point, unfortunately. This sort of wanton and endemic low level crime - which everyone can see happen - is deeply corrosive to the social contract.
Egg Centric
Established Member
The solution however is greater enforcement not Jenrick (no doubt backed up by off screen security, he's hardly Rambo) trying to play the hero.
SuspectUsual
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Maybe, but Jenrick trying to look like a hardman dealing with it himself isn’t the answer
Well of course not, it’s a cringe political stunt, but it makes an obvious point that Khan’s administration isn’t dealing with the problem. Britain is a very soft touch.
Gloster
Veteran Member
It is just part of his manoeuvring in preparation for the next Conservative leadership election, which seems to be getting closer and closer. Naked Ambition II?
I wonder if Jenrick would blame it all on Boris if he saw the same thing happen under his leadership? Because it certainly isn’t anything new. It seems some right wingers think London was a crime free utopia before Sadiq Khan came to power.
SuspectUsual
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For context, fare evasion is reported by TfL as being down over 10% in the last year there's data for, and as being around a third the level it is in New York. So whilst any fare evasion can be argued as being too much, its headed in the right direction.
The number of police recorded crime offences in London in 2015/16 (the last year of Boris as Mayor) was 743,728, and are 938,020 in 2023/24 under Khan, a 26% increase. I think that is statistically significant. No, it wasn't crime free under Boris, but it is much worse under Khan.
London crime figures 2026 | Statista
There were 925,700 crimes recorded in London in the 2025/26 reporting year, compared with 951,800 in the previous year. During this time period, crime in London increased steadily, with the figure of 912,487 in 2019/20 a pre-pandemic peak when there were approximately 102.4 crimes per 1,000...
www.statista.com
True, that is statistically significant, and a different approach needs to be taken. Though I’m always a little sceptical about crime figures, as other things can affect the figures - such as more people feeling confident to report crimes, to more police around meaning more crimes are prevented. Numbers of officers in London has increased yearly since 2019, for example. A chart showing that can be seen here - https://www.gov.uk/government/stati...ice-workforce-england-and-wales-31-march-2024The number of police recorded crime offences in London in 2015/16 (the last year of Boris as Mayor) was 743,728, and are 938,020 in 2023/24 under Khan, a 26% increase. I think that is statistically significant. No, it wasn't crime free under Boris, but it is much worse under Khan.
London crime figures 2026 | Statista
There were 925,700 crimes recorded in London in the 2025/26 reporting year, compared with 951,800 in the previous year. During this time period, crime in London increased steadily, with the figure of 912,487 in 2019/20 a pre-pandemic peak when there were approximately 102.4 crimes per 1,000...
But I largely share concerns about those rising figures.
I also find Sadiq Khan is often blamed completely for these things, when national governance also has an impact on London crime figures. I’m not saying Khan is blameless at all, but I sometimes find he is an easy scapegoat, and people also like to target him simply because of his, er, characteristics. There’s certainly things I disagree on Khan with, but he seems far more competent than who he replaced.
But he is also, as Mayor, the Police Commissioner, so he has a remit for tackling crime, and presumably can direct the Met as to what and how it should do this.
brad465
Veteran Member
The head of the Met is, while accountable to the Mayor, also under orders from the Home Secretary, who is very much part of the national government. Their budget is also hugely decided by national government, and while money isn't everything, there comes a point where money is a barrier to doing everything necessary. I don't know how true this is, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Met have in the past been a rope in tug of war between the Mayor and national government over what to do.
In my opinion the whole Mayor situation is a half-baked attempt at devolution which creates extra layers of bureaucracy without the full benefits of local decision making and control. I fully believe in devolution, but one needs to go the whole hog with it and have a federal system, like that in the US, or with Scotland and Wales (not NI because that power sharing has several issues).
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Apparently he did NOT have permission from TfL to do this, according to Henry Riley of LBC:
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Politics is irrelevant in dealing with the problem.
It’s been the same for decades.
The difference now is that social media means more people are aware.
SuspectUsual
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Oh dear. Maybe we’ll see him pop up in Disputes & Prosecutions looking for advice when TfL charge him
It’s like reverse auditing.
BlueLeanie
On Moderation
We should have Councillors and MPs from every party out and about calling out shoplifting and fare evasion.
The number of police recorded crime offences in London in 2015/16 (the last year of Boris as Mayor) was 743,728, and are 938,020 in 2023/24 under Khan, a 26% increase. I think that is statistically significant. No, it wasn't crime free under Boris, but it is much worse under Khan.
London crime figures 2026 | Statista
There were 925,700 crimes recorded in London in the 2025/26 reporting year, compared with 951,800 in the previous year. During this time period, crime in London increased steadily, with the figure of 912,487 in 2019/20 a pre-pandemic peak when there were approximately 102.4 crimes per 1,000...
However, even with those higher rates, there are areas of the UK which (up to 2023 - so under the Tories) see higher rates of things like gun crime, stabbing, etc:
Fact check: has Sadiq Khan really overseen a crime surge in London?
Capital’s mayor is often accused of allowing crime to soar, but Guardian analysis shows reality is more nuanced
www.theguardian.com
I’m always a bit surprised that enforcement can’t be self funding (if not a profit center). The revenue from fines for any one revenue operation must surely exceed the staff costs - yet they’re exceedingly rare. It would probably help if it could be determined in real time whether a contactless payment card had been tapped in.
deltic
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Enforcement on TfL and C2C is massively loss making. What is more difficult to determine is how much additional revenue would be lost if no enforcement took place.
edwin_m
Veteran Member
I suspect most rail managers estimate the level of lost revenue, and aim for a level of enforcement that maximises the profit (revenue not lost minus the costs of the enforcement).
Increasing enforcement ought to have some positive impact on ridership if it creates a perception that the railway is better policed. However the opposite effect has been noted in the USA where the number of police and security people and announcements makes people feel unsafe and less likely to use transit. That may be less of a problem here as there isn't as much distrust of police.
deltic
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Certainly the case for me when I occasionally see armed police patrolling London stations and on a train once.
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Egg Centric
Established Member
TBF, a lot are used for money laundering. A bit like the conservative party.
Generalisation, though. I'm sure that applies to many businesses run by clean-cut white British-born males.
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Egg Centric
Established Member
Yes, but the sudden recent growth in them has been primarily money laundering, and it's not racist to point this out. Like American sweet shops / vape stores / etc... Just that Barbers seem to be flavour of the month.
Of course he's never going to film himself raiding any of the dodgy ones, as it will not end well for him!
brad465
Veteran Member
Badenoch is now so desperate for support she appears to be asking for it at gunpoint:
www.express.co.uk
I wouldn't normally cite the Daily Express, but it says something that they'll report this incident in this way despite being a right wing outlet.
Kemi Badenoch ‘broke Army cadet rules’ with assault rifle photo shoot
The Tory leader is in hot water as she's accused of recklessly using a firearm on a visit to a cadet base.
www.express.co.uk
(Image of Kemi Badenoch pointing an assault rifle at an army cadet)
Kemi Badenoch has been accused of breaking army cadet rules on a visit to a military base in her constituency this afternoon, as she was snapped 'misusing' a firearm. The Tory leader was photographed in a number of poses alongside camouflage-clad-cadets, as well as peeking out of an armoured vehicle.
In one image, she was caught pointing a L85A3 rifle directly at the chest of a member of personnel, as we reported earlier in our live blog. Labour quickly got hold of cadet gun rules, the first of which is “a weapon must never be pointed at anyone in any circumstances.” The second rule explains: “A weapon must always be handled so that it points in such a direction that there is no danger if a round is accidentally fired.”
I wouldn't normally cite the Daily Express, but it says something that they'll report this incident in this way despite being a right wing outlet.
Worrying, if you ask me.
Much as I am no fan of Badenoch, I'd argue we need the right-wing media to continue to support the Tories to counter the threat of Reform.
Badenoch has not broken any rules.
She is a civilian with, I assume, no experience with firing rifles, and whoever in the Army has allowed:
1) her to point a weapon at a person, and
2) for the photo to be taken
is in very big trouble.
This weapon would not have been drawn from the armoury without close supervision.
Incidentally, that's - fairly obviously - not an army cadet she's pointing it at. That is an NCO of 35 Engineer Regt at Carver Barracks.
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Gloster
Veteran Member
I wonder if this is the cover of next Private Eye.