The Elizabeth line isn’t the only thing breaking down...
The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy I’m fortunate, on the whole, that I don’t have to use London’s Elizabeth line much these days, because this newest part of the capital’s public transport network is fast becoming as unreliable as the ones that date back to the Victorian era. A day in the life of a British family might include the early morning rush to get a GP appointment; the school run clogged by cars; concrete classrooms crumbling; shortages and empty shelves at the supermarkets, complete with rampant inflation; fuel and council tax bills that only go one way; hours wasted on telephone consumer help lines or “talking” in circles with bots online; long waits for hospital treatment; and trains that never even show up. A more moderate sense of relative decline was also noted as Britain entered the 1960s, when the loss of empire and international rivals overtaking the UK in prosperity and power became keenly felt.
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