The decision will come as a surprise to the industry as it comes ahead of the launch of a daily evening freesheet by rival publisher Richard Desmond, which will challenge the Standard's control over the London newspaper market.
The Evening Standard has enjoyed complete dominance of the London daily market since Robert Maxwell tried to break its monopoly with the London Daily News in 1987. The paper, which was launched as a 24-hour newspaper and updated throughout the day, was supposed to have cost Maxwell as much as £50m before he closed it.
Associated Newspapers is reported to be have been so worried about the effect Desmond's title -- expected to be called the London Evening Mail -- will have on the Standard's circulation that it is said to have even considered giving the Standard away free. It fought off Maxwell's paper by reviving the London Evening News for a limited period and selling this title for 5p.
The decision to increase the price of the paper is seen as a brave move at a time when the paper's average monthly circulation fell 4.4% in the latest ABCs for the July to December 2002 period. Its average monthly figure for this period is 411,056, down from 430,023 a year ago.
The fall in circulation has led to speculation that editor Veronica Wadley's job could be up for grabs. Late last year, it was reported that Lord Rothermere, proprietor of Associated Newspapers, had held talks with The Observer editor Roger Alton about the editorship of the Standard.
In a moral boosting memo to staff, Mike Anderson, managing director of the paper, was bullish about the paper's performance. He said: "We produce one of the best newspaper packages in the country. We regularly break stories that count."
He also dispelled speculation about Wadley's future, saying that under Wadley's editorship the paper's readership had increased, which "shows people are noticing what a fabulous read we offer".
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