Is there a viable alternative to Sadiq?

[Earl Aelfheah]

When you consider that Susan Hall fought almost her entire campaign on making the air dirtier, fighting a 'pay per mile' scheme that exists only in her head, and talking about how much she hates the city she wanted to lead, it does seem surprising that she didn't win. 

[Sue]

1 hour ago, Earl Aelfheah said:

When you consider that Susan Hall fought almost her entire campaign on making the air dirtier, fighting a 'pay per mile' scheme that exists only in her head, and talking about how much she hates the city she wanted to lead, it does seem surprising that she didn't win. 

😂😂😂

[malumbu]

Britain First took things to another extreme: "London is fast becoming a Third World cesspit, where crime is rampant and radical Islamist extremists dominate the streets!"  Probably the best outcome for Scanlon is that Orpington returns to Kent, although that would be unfair both on the residents of Kent, and many who live in the London Borough of Bromley irrespective of who the voted for.

Hooray for Count Binface eh?

[CPR Dave]

They were right about pay per mile.

 

[Insuflo]

1 hour ago, CPR Dave said:

They were right about pay per mile.

 

No, they were not. They claimed that Khan would introduce pay-per-mile for all vehicles in London. That was a lie and Khan had no such plans.

The Labour government has now announced pay-per-mile for EVs only nationwide, so they pay a similar duty to combustion engined vehicles. 

[CPR Dave]

The Labour government have introduced pay per mile by starting with eclectic vehicles and petrol electric hybrid vehicles.

They won't stop there. 

And nor will the Mayor.

[malumbu]

Do your own research.  Pay per mile is the most equitable way of raising revenue from driving as you pay, per, mile.  Ideally you'd replace both VED and fuel duty with this, with some weighting for cleaner vehicles.  A more progressive system would change the rate according to the time of day such as the cost for using the tunnels under London.

Electric vehicles were always going to lose the perks once mass adoption was under way.  They will still be far cheaper to run, particularly if you have a home charger using off peak rates (as low as 10p a KWt).  Excise duty has already been introduced for EVs and CC will come in next year.

Stop suggesting it is some sort of conspiracy.

Government have chickened out putting up fuel duty by inflation, again, and reversing the temporary reduction brought in by the last lot.  Cowards.  Pushing me towards the Greens although some of the economic policies are daft. 

 

[CPR Dave]

They will only be cheaper to run using a home charger for so long as the pay per mile rate stays low. But it won't. It will go up and up. As petrol has. We are one of the most expansive countries in the world for petrol and most of the price is tax, plus VAT on the cost and VAT on the tax. The government aren't just going to give that money up.

They will get it back from pay per mile increases.

[malumbu]

No no no and no again.

Pay per mile will hopefully be brought in for all vehicles.  

Governments will continue to decide whether we raise revenue (general taxation) from road vehicles.  Similar to the way we raise money from CGT, inheritance tax, fags and booze.

The last few governments have sadly overseen a reduction in the revenue from motorised transport due to freezing, and then a (supposedly temporary) reduction in fuel duty.  That is 2.4 billion less to spend on hospitals, schools, or whatever.

If you want a low tax, low public service, economy, then you should not live in Western Europe - apart from the odd tax haven although you'd need to sell your £2million house to afford to do this.  And that will buy you a shed in Guernsey.

Fuel prices are loosely similar across Europe.  The exchange rate is an important factor.

Fuel was around 28 p a litre in 1980 (after the Tory government, yes the Tories, added 10% in the budget, yes 10%), that is about £130 a litre nowadays, although the price of crude is the main factor which has been volatile in the last twenty years.

A pint of beer should be around £2.30 a pint in London based on 1980 prices.  It isn't.

 

 

[malumbu]

On 11/03/2024 at 10:23, HeadNun said:

I would genuinely like to know how he, or his GP, can prove that his adult onset asthma is related to London air. 

Because some in the medical profession consider it is.  This recent study published in the Lancet concludes that the link is  not confirmed and that more work needs to be done:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(24)00279-1/fulltext

And the coroner in a landmark, and sad case, included poor air quality as a cause of death:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/10/ellas-law-rosamund-kissi-debrah-air-pollution-death-london