Nobody needs to swig from a can of beer or bottle of spirits on a short Tube or bus journey home. Those who do lower the tone and are likely to be troublemakers.

But a blanket alcohol ban on inter-city journeys, which the Government is considering, makes no sense whatever. The vast majority of those who enjoy a leisurely drink on a long train journey cause no trouble at all. Often a glass of beer or wine makes a sub-standard buffet meal rather less unpalatable.

The suspicion must be that because Labour is rattled by the success of Mr Johnson, it has decided to copy his policies without any thought as to whether they are appropriate to the national stage.

Any idea that can be misused by the nanny state is liable to be immediately co-opted into Labour’s attempts to restrict the liberties of law-abiding citizens. This Government has already grievously undermined personal responsibility and individual freedom in a whole range of areas.

Its attempts to interfere usually prove counter-productive. The ongoing fiasco over home information packs is a case
in point.

HIPs were flawed right from the start. But Labour’s pondering of a public transport booze ban suggests its reverse Midas touch is becoming even more acute: this time it has taken a perfectly sound idea and rendered it ridiculous.