Gas the Poor

The punter-parboiling Routebozza bus may be on its way out, and the pleb-free garden bridge may yet be abandoned; but at least one aspect of the London Haystack's legacy persists in the city's barnstorming pollution levels, which have breached the annual legal limit in less than a week. Thanks to the greenest government ever, when it comes to air quality much of the country takes a relaxed and liberal attitude to the rule of law; and the London Haystack's winning combination of rah-rah populism and Churchillian orotundity has done wonders for the capital, with almost six thousand early deaths a year from nitrogen dioxide poisoning. A few window-dressing measures were proposed during the last parliament, but were rejected by the Bullingdon Club and their little orange fag at the Treasury, who did not wish to sacrifice Britain's second-to-leading place among Europe's top prole-gassers. Nevertheless, the Government remains committed to improving air quality and cutting harmful emissions insofar as this can be achieved without undue inconvenience to ministerial kickbacks, party donors, Nissan, etc.