Here is a memo for aspiring mayors in Merseyside and Greater Manchester: If you want to improve the working routines of many of your residents remember to include Richard Branson in your list of targets.

Mr Branson's Virgin Rail enjoys a monopoly of rail travel to London and the South from the North West and it certainly shows. Rail prices for the same journey south seem significantly higher on the west coast than on the other side of the Pennines even though they are now both run by the same rail company.