Ministers' red box blues

David Cameron's ban on ministers travelling in chauffeur driven cars has gone somewhat awry. Only last year the then Conservative leader promised to cut the cost of government before he came to power, annoyed by excessive spending on ministerial cars. Now ministers are being told they must travel to their constituencies by second class public transport, but for security reasons their red boxes must travel to the constituency separately in a private car. So when one minister, who cannot be named but whose identity is known to the Guardian, asked his private office in the past 24 hours if he could accompany his red box in the car to do some work, he was told this was not allowed under the latest rules on ministerial travel. As a result, he will be travelling several hundred miles by train to his constituency, where he will greet his red box. It is not the first time Cameron has had problems with ministerial cars. When as leader of the opposition he cycled to Westminster, his papers followed – in a car provided by the government's car service.