For a chain, Gaucho is startlingly expensive, the final bill ending up pretty close to one from much more stylish, individual restaurants
Boris Johnson's deputy faces damaging new allegations that he misled the public by claiming to be a magistrate
More...
Blair hints at national road charges to fund better transport
Last updated at 11:22am on 07.02.07
Tony Blair has given his clearest signal so far that the Government is poised to introduce national road pricing.
The Prime Minister said "targeted charges" would probably be the only way for the Government to fund improvements to the transport system. "In the future, I don't believe you will get consent for general taxpayer-funded massive investment in transport. I think you'll have to do that ... on a basis that spreads the cost," he added.
See related articles ...
• Virgin is secretly limiting cheap seats, MP claims
However, the Treasury and the Department for Transport are at odds over the issue. Transport ministers believe national road tolls will be palatable to motorists only if cash raised goes to improving the transport system.
Gordon Brown believes ringfencing taxes for a particular cause would create a dangerous precedent.
Pilot schemes will start shortly and the national system could be in place within five years.
However, more than 659,000 people have signed a Downing Street position against it.
According to the AA, Mr Brown already takes £42 billion a year from motorists from vehicle excise duty, VAT, fuel taxes and company car taxes but less than a quarter of that is reinvested in the road network.
The AA said drivers would be more likely to tolerate road pricing if the money raised was ringfenced for transport. But it said the Treasury would have to be "totally transparent" about the finances.
The Department for Transport says that without some form of road pricing congestion will grow by 25 per cent in the next 10 years. However, it stressed that no final decision had been taken.
Doubts remain about the reliability of the satellite technology used to track vehicles and the scheme could cost £60 billion to set up.
Reader views (11)
Here's a sample of the latest views published. You can click view all to read all views that readers have sent in.
The introduction of road charges and aviation taxes is a precursor to declaring them "carbon taxes" and crediting them to "clean" activities. Behind the thinking is the problem raised by the 2006 Energy Review in that nuclear power is only economic if it garners revenue from carbon credits. EdF, the most likely nuclear builder and Suez-GdF (if the merger goes ahead) need no subsidies because they are around 85% French state owned, as is Areva the French nuke builder. However both have asked for guaranteed carbon credits for the operational life of their nuclear projects, for between 60 to 100 years. Of course, it is only the actual nuclear fission that is carbon free and the uranium mining, fuel manufacture, station building, de-commissioning and waste handling all produce emissions, so the credits are not deserved!. In any case as fossil fuels run out the users ability to pay the carbon levy will progressively reduce and the whole carbon trading ethic is a nonsense. There will be congestion whatever we do, but it will be caused by abandoned vehicles which failed to make it to a filling station with some fuel.
- John Busby, Bury St Edmunds
What seems to be passed by, either by misdirection or plain short sightedness, is that there is already a highly accurate system in place which penalises anyone more if they a: drive more miles and/or b: have a less economical (sorry 'green') car - it's called FUEL DUTY. The only area in which fuel duty does not 'penalise'/discriminate is the time of day one uses the roads at. Given that the VAST majority start work at a fixed time and finish at a fixed time (believe me Gordy, if I could change it I would!) so it's simply a big fat con to get more money out of us to throw into the enormous, leaky money pit that GB requires to continue to look good. (Richard - I sadly believe you are likely correct - in that there'll be a token reduction in road tax alone and whimperings from the treasury over how we must all pull together to invest and share the burden blah blah - it will most certainly be rigged to the net positive side once introduced)
Anyway, what I really wanted to say (as it's intensely sinister IMO) is that in doing so, this govm't will finally succeed in getting GPS trackers into every single car on the roads. Thus they will know exactly where you went/go, when you did it and how fast you went. So, expect further behavioural modification in the form of a fine and punishment to follow... and so on.
- Ash, Chertsey, UK
Train companies have no new capacity coming into service and are introducing premium tariffs to discourage any further growth in passengers. Simultaneously the government want to price cars off the road, presumably on to trains! Just how are we supposed to get to work? Perhaps we should all give up working and paying taxes.
It's a shame that the motorist is not a minority group. If we were, the government would rush to pass legislation to protect our interests. As it is the largest petition ever is made to Downing Street, and the government makes it clear that they will ignore it. I have spent years thinking the French were mad for the way they protested against things they don't like. I now realise that when victims keep quiet, they only get further abused. Enough is enough. And I do not care if I am now on the government subversive list!
- Stephen, London
16°c
