The Chancellor wasn’t appealing vehicle individuals with much on the eve of his 2016 autumn statement in the Commons. as well as he provided even less. however a guarantee is a promise, right? On the Sunday before his Wednesday speech, some in the media were recommended Philip Hammond had “£1.3billion to be targeted at improving British roads”.
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On that Sunday, in a TV interview, I argued a spend of £1.3bn purchases next to nowt when distributed across a highway network inside or linking 48,000 British villages, towns as well as cities.
Furthermore, I specified Hammond’s £1.3bn represents what chauffeurs pay to him in vehicle/fuel/road/parking/insurance taxes as well as responsibilities weekly or so.
So far so bad. however it gets worse, since when the Chancellor provided his speech in Parliament, he efficiently changed it as well as dedicated to “£1.1billion of investment in English regional transfer networks; £220million to address web traffic pinch points on tactical roads”.
• “Congestion might expense us £307bn – exactly how about a ruralisation programme?”
This, it seems, is the circa £1.3bn he provided advanced cautioning of. however it now appears like only a fraction is guaranteed for the roads. Hammond’s left the door open for many of it to be blown on “transport networks” – which I suspect will turn out to be rail/bus/tram/tube routes, cycle lanes as well as the like. however just as chauffeurs as well as motorcyclists pay for the road area they use, shouldn’t public transfer travellers as well as cyclists be choosing up the tab for their own tracks, lanes as well as paths?
True, Phil reckons he’s got £390m to “build on our competitive advantage in low discharge cars as well as the advancement of linked autonomous vehicles”, in addition to offering much needed assistance for EV recharging infrastructure, which is shambolic.
• “Isn’t it time our road network was a concern too?”
But he pushed his luck when mischievously telling motorists they’re about to delight in a “tax cut” worth £850m, based on his decision NOT to raise fuel duties. That’s misleading. A authentic cut would be a reduction in the responsibility levels we currently pay – as well as that ain’t happening.
The final begin the bollards? Take the most significant rip-off in contemporary motoring – vehicle insurance coverage – as well as make it even much more costly by hiking the tax by 20 per cent. This will force some older chauffeurs off the road, while at the exact same time avoiding numerous children from getting on it – in vehicles that would improve their social lives, self-reliance as well as task prospects.
What did you believe of this year’s autumn Statement? Leave us a comment below…