There are the usual last-ditch talks but it looks very much like tomorrow’s Tube strike is on.
As our City Hall Editor Ross Lydall reports, negotiations between the RMT and London Underground were taking place but union sources suggested a “political shift” from the Mayor was required to “change the weather”.
Transport for London echoed this pessimism, saying it was hard to respond to the union’s concerns over pensions when no proposals to alter benefits had yet been tabled.
The full backstory on the pensions debacle is here but essentially, it costs TfL roughly £375m a year in contributions and an independent review commissioned by Sadiq Khan in 2020 found that reforming the “generous” scheme could save £100m a year by 2025. The other disagreement is regarding the axing of 500 to 600 station posts.
In an ominous sign of tomorrow (and Thursday’s) disruption, TfL has taken the unusual step of encouraging commuters to “work from home if possible.“ Passenger services will also be “severely disrupted” on Wednesday and Friday morning due to the knock-on impact of the 24-hour walkouts.
In addition to his reporting, Ross has written a short comment piece on how the Mayor’s no-strike promises for the Tube are haunting him now. Our leader column, meanwhile, is unsympathetic to the industrial action.
London’s troubles are of course given a healthy dose of perspective by the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The decision to publish the picture on today’s front page – which shows the pixelated face of a six-year-old girl who lay dying – was not taken lightly. But it demonstrates the utter cruelty of this war.
The Evening Standard’s proprietor, Evgeny Lebedev, has used the front page to write a personal plea to Vladimir Putin, calling on him to end the war.
Developments in Ukraine continue at a rapid pace. The country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned the battle against Putin’s invasion was now in a crucial 24-hour phase amid claims that Russian troops had been ordered to seize a major city “at any price”.
Ceasefire talks have taken place at the Ukraine-Belarus border, in which Zelensky demanded the withdrawal of all Russian forces. Hopes are not high for a breakthrough. The Jerusalem Post reports that Roman Abramovich is in Belarus “helping with the talks”.
If you want to be reassured by the good in much of humanity, Londoners have queued for hours to load up truck loads of donations to be given to Ukrainians fleeing their homes. Though, as this piece that has long stuck with me argues, we fetishise Mr Rogers’ ‘Look for the helpers‘ mantra at our peril.
In the comment pages, Defence Editor Robert Fox says Putin’s nuclear threat is the classic performance of a playpen bully. As a side note, it is also, somehow, Liz Truss’ fault, according to the Russians.
Meanwhile, Stephen King warns that the post-Cold War peace dividend is drawing to a close.
And finally, the best (and worst) takeaway delivery locations in London have been revealed. Commiserations to south-west Londoners.
