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Civil servants should get off their Pelotons and return to the office as soon as possible, a Tory former Cabinet minister has said.
The reference to the upmarket exercise bikes was made by Lord Patten, who told Parliament that once the latest coronavirus threat had passed, mandarins should go back to their “expensive and now too often white elephant office blocks” for the good of the Civil Service.
The Conservative peer made the call as he urged the Government to adopt a future policy of “creative courage”, with a view to bringing passengers back into London.
His remarks came during a debate in the House of Lords on the funding of Transport for London, which has seen its finances take a major hit as a result of far fewer people travelling due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It follows the Government announcement of new coronavirus restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the Omicron variant.
Under Plan B, people are being told to work from home if they can from next week.
Speaking at Westminster, Lord Patten, who served as education secretary under John Major, said: “As soon as the latest pandemic threats are evaluated and things get back to whatever the new normal is, I do hope the Government will adopt an attitude or even a policy of creative courage where they can, in order, without any cost at all, to bring passengers back into central London and into outer London.”
He added: “One way I think of doing that is to bring civil servants back to their offices again, just as soon as possible. That’s for the good of the nation, the good of London and the good of the civil servants themselves.
“Back into their expensive and now too often white elephant office blocks. Back to actually seeing their colleagues, talking to their colleagues at the coffee point, helping and encouraging new joiners. All these things are critically important.
“And to parody that old saying ‘Get on your bike’ I think it’s rather a case of ‘Get off your Pelotons’ at home and get back into the office in the cause of a better civil service.”
The fitness bike, which is favoured by Chancellor Rishi Sunak, costs upwards of £1,000, with users paying a monthly subscription on top to take part in streamed workouts via an integrated screen.