The trouble with this type of announcement from the Chancellor is that with New Labour it is still to difficult to know when something is earnestly meant or is being spun to divert attention.
Fuel protests appear to be a likelihood over the coming weeks. To divert attention the Chancellor shifts the blame to global oil prices, even though they actually make up a very small part of the total fuel price.
However, I believe there are some issues here. It is all very well for the Chancellor to say that there should be investment in refineries and in alternative energies, but I do not see the British Government trying to do much. Where is the encouragement to the car industry in the UK to start to move away from oil based fuels? The fact is I believe I am right in saying that there are more car companies manufacturing cars in the UK than any other country in the world. With such a diverse audience of global companies I would have thought there was a real opportunity for this Government to change global attitudes to motor fuel consumption. Perhaps the problem is that actually the Chancellor likes the fuel tax escalator because he needs more money to spend!
I have two cars; one is a people mover to get my family around and the other is Smart car. The Smart is very green and low fuel consumption. I was interested recently in Autogas, partly because of price. Startlingly even if you did convert, which many can, you might be able to halve your fuel bills but there are hardly any refuelling points in Kingston. In fact the closest appear to be in Ewell and Wimbledon.
2 comments:
Cannot understand how Brown gets away with it.
Having destroyed final salary pensions,lumbered the tax credit system on hundreds of thousands of civil servants(keeps unemployment low),he asks Opec to increase production while there are too few working refineries to process it,this was the case before Katrina,it is more critical now.
I can live with high tax on fuel provided those who insist on driving huge SUVs around the rutted surfaces and mountain passes of Surbiton are prepared to pay massive increases in road fund tax.
Suggest £2000 pa for all off roaders and any car over 3.0 litres.
We also need massive road building to cope with Olympic/Housing/Industrial Expansion and net increases in population following increased birth rates in ethnic popuations coupled with massive inflows from e/europe,of which I am all infavour as otherwise we shall have no builders/chippies and plumbers to actually preserve the fabric now let alone build the new facilities.
Why can we only produce graduates with Media Studies degrees or Golf Course management?
I think the contrary argument might be that those who drive cars over 3.0 litres already pay more tax through the fuel escalator. That aside you have a point and this is why I am interested in the review of the flat tax that is taking place.
Your other point on builders is a good one. I am doing work in Building Schools for the Future - a Government initiative to get the private sector to rebuild every secondary school, in the country. The fact is many of the private sector companies are very worried about the lack of labour and are especially worried about the effect of the Olympics and the amount of labour that will need to be brought in from abroad to get this stuff built on time.
It will be interesting to see whether we get the buildings up!!
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