Standing Up For A Third Class Idea

Shame, really. He was doing so well, wasn't he? Nice But Dim Tim Leunig last week demonstrated a less than enviable ability to take one step forward, two steps back when engaging with the world outside his ivory tower. 
It appeared a Damascene moment of sanity had descended upon academia's accident-prone guy just a couple of months ago when he penned a piece for the Guardian's Comment is Free page on the ConDem's "welfare reforms" (http://condensedthoughts.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/dim-tim-finally-gets-it.html ). Great, we thought, all those ivory tower shibbloeths have been dumped & Tim can really engage with the rest of us.
Alas, alas, alas, 'twas not to be.
Tim returned to the Comment is Free site last week with what he clearly thought was a great idea in response to the latest rise in rail fares: standing-only carriages. Yep, read it & weep (http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/20/train-fare-rises-standing-only-carriages ):
"A low-cost commuter network would have carriages designed for standing room only. People take up a lot less space if they stand up. Call it third class if you like. If enough people are willing to stand, we need fewer carriages, and less power to haul the train."
What happened, Tim? Oh well, hope you've still got that Liverpool mug.