Oct 31 2007
Ruth Kelly - let the poor take the bus
Ex public school girl and six figure salary Cabinet Minister Ruth Kelly has come up with answer to the transport chaos and congestion Labour has presided over - charges for motorists wanting to travel in cities or on busy motorways.
Building on the success of Prescott’s bus lane on the M4 used by the previous Prime Minister in a hurry, and the much admired Zil lane Olympics transport plans, Ms Kelly now proposes making people pay more to travel between London, Manchester and Birmingham on the motorways, and recommends congestion charging to more towns and cities.
I look forward to seeing her contribution to the next Labour manifesto. Coming from the Marie Antoinette school of politics, it will presumably say “The poor should take the bus or stay at home”. It will make its bid to get the votes of the better off by recommending ” You know you can afford it - try one of our motorways now we persuaded those on low incomes to stay off the road. You know you’re worth it.”
You can share the road with Ministers enjoying their chauffeured vehicles, paid for by these new road charges. You must be pleased the money is going to such a good cause.
When I last asked questions of Ministers to tell me how often they used public transport as opposed to the car I was told they did not keep records! I wonder why?
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John Redwood has been the Member of Parliament for Wokingham since 1987. First attending Kent College, Canterbury, he graduated from Magdalen College...
Didn’t I also read that she is hiring an army of “transport advisers” to visit people’s homes and discuss with them how often they use their cars and suggesting that they may like to walk or cycle more?! More client state “workers” who will vote Labour to keep their non-jobs.
Labour is supposed to be, if I remember correctly, the party of the workers and the poor. Well perhaps they were before Mr Blair et al hijacked them and turned the party into what it is now…..and to be honest I don’t really know what that actually is. They seem to have made the poor even poorer and these extra taxes for travel certainly won’t help.
I think you are right when you say that, with Labour it is all about money….most answers at PMQs boil down to,
“We have thrown loads of money at it and certainly more than your party.”
Mr Brown and his predecessor have not realised that it is not the amount that really counts, it is how that money is spent and whether value for money is received for that money.
Throughout time it has been a fact that Labour, new or otherwise, spend and spend and eventually destroy the economy. It then takes a Conservative government to put it right again, often with painful policies needed in the short term to correct the damage caused by Labour’s mismanagement. I fear they have done far greater levels of damage this time, given the length of their tenure. If the predicted down turn in the global economy does materialise as suggested, let’s hope it is not too late to repair Labour’s vandalism of our economy.
There is a kind of revolting logic to the proposals. To tackle congestion one has basically three options, first, let congestion build and have people queue to use the motorways, whilst raking in the cash from petrol tax. This has been de facto labour policy for the last decade and it’s very much how communist Poland used to allocate bread. Second you could increase provision by accepting that public transport is limited and build more roads. They just don’t have the courage to do this. Third, you can ration the available capacity by pricing poor people off the roads. How people will actually get to work escapes me? Do ministers imagine that on the extremely congested M3 at 7am, there are many people there who don’t absolutely have to be as part of a journey to work?
The truth is, this is just another tax. They dare not put the price up so high as to deter people from driving, but they will charge say
With another 15 million in the country by 2050 it’s only going to get worse!
Anone think a bus journey is cheap? It’s not.
In london mopeds and motorbikes parked free. Some councils have seen parking revenue fall since the congestion charge was introduced, so are now thinking of charging motorbikes to park. Did anyone think this was a charge for congestion? it never was and never will be.
Restructuring the railways would be part of a good solution - as a single mum travelling with a small child I took my babe to London and wasn’t told of any time restrictions on the ticket (I asked if there were any restrictions at the time of purchase and was told there were none) The journey involves a break where I have to walk across a major city from train to train and I structured my day such that I would be back home in time to collect my other child. I wasn’t allowed on the train to come home and told there was a time restriction and could only take a train more than 3 hours later, too late to collect my child. I questioned this and was told to pay the extra (I didn’t know there was extra but hey) or wait. I had to get home to collect my child and called Boris Johnsons office in panic - a very kind person there paid the extra and I got home.
The cost of a single return fare from Birmingham to London?
‘called Boris Johnsons office in panic - a very kind person there paid the extra and I got home.’
Hmmm…Bizarre!
Good to see the middle class social security system is alive and well. Would Bazman with his eighteen month old daughter get the same?