It’s true: battling the hordes of rush-hour commuters is one of the worst parts about living and working in London. There’s nothing like a packed, steaming-hot, standing-room-only tube carriage to set your day off on a particularly horrid note.
But most people don’t see a busy Underground platform and think, ‘Aha! I know the answer: Ban all immigrants!’
That, however, seems to be the conclusion one person came to when he posted an angry tweet this morning to his 80k followers.
Ben Goldsmith, son of Lady Annabel Goldsmith and brother of Conservative London mayoral race loser Zac Goldsmith, was particularly vexed by his commute this morning and tweeted a snap of a busy Victoria line platform with the now-deleted comment:
“It’s really easy to advocate for open borders and a swelling population in England when you’re on your arsee at home in North London.
“The open borders people should be asked to take the appallingly crowded Victoria Line into Central London every morning for a week.”
This ridiculous tweet was ripe for Twitter derision and, thankfully, we were not disappointed…
Goldsmith, a 38-year-old investor, later followed up his tweet with the comment: “Unnecessarily grumpy tweet on a miserable commute to work.
“I’m pro-immigration, of course. London is what it is because of centuries of immigration. But we definitely need to have a sensible discussion on numbers each year. That’s all.”
And in case Ben ever gets annoyed about his commute again, here are some genuine, simple proposals he might want to tweet next time:
1. Tax the rich and invest in more public transport
2. Build more affordable homes in London so people can live closer to where they work
3. Invest in other UK cities so the economy isn’t so concentrated on London
4. Encourage businesses to let people work flexibly from home
All great options, Ben!
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(Images: Getty / Twitter)
