To be fair, it does sound like you are standing up for him. It is unlikely that the chancellor of the exchequer is going to do much work on public transport when anyone could be sitting in the next block of seats (having paid the appropriate fare of course)
Well it must be nice for you not to...
Not sure but I thought I read somewhere that following the expense scandal, they can only claim back the standard fare so I suspect the aide/PA books tickets at that price. The issue here is not really about the price but more the intimation that he couldn't possibly sit in standard...
Probably far closer to the mark than the Tory posting brigade would acknowledge.
I take it the whole Andrew Mitchell 'we're better than you' affair went right over your head.