Budget Day Rumours of a Cut-Price Railcard For People Aged 26 To 30

One day to go: It’s budget day tomorrow and there were a couple of consumer-friendly drops from Treasury sources last night that helpfully won’t break the bank. A new cut-price railcard for people aged 26 to 30 will slash the cost of rail travel by one-third for millions of youngish people. 

According to the Institute of Directors: The railcard will cost around £30 and give young people a third off rail fares, but there will be restrictions on peak time travel. The Rail Delivery Group, which is the trade body for train companies, said the decision is “good news”. "A key commitment in our long-term plan to change and improve is to boost communities by enabling more people to travel by train”, it said. Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald said "Any move that reduces the cost of travel is welcome but the Tories are tinkering around the edges of a broken system. Our railway should be run by and for passengers, not private shareholders and foreign governments." 

And Philip Hammond will also announce plans to force airlines to give greater protection to passengers in the wake of the collapse of Monarch.

But but but: Hammond is under huge pressure from Tory MPs and motorists not to hike fuel duty on diesel tomorrow. The Sun’s Political Editor Tom Newton Dunn says Tory MPs believe they have “talked him out of it” after a concerted lobbying campaign. In the Times, Sam Coates reports there will be no money for public sector pay in tomorrow’s budget, which would surely kick off another almighty row. His colleague Lucy Fisher says rogue Tory whips have been secretly encouraging MPs to oppose Hammond’s plans to free up land for housebuilding.

Deficit day: Public sector finance stats for October will be published by the Office for National Statistics at 9.30 a.m.