David Cameron: 'I will be a friend of the motorist'
Discussion
Did a search but couldn't see it already:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/7652239/D...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/7652239/D...
Bloke in the Telegraph said:
My guess is that the would-be prime minister, David Cameron, might ride a bicycle to our crack-of-dawn, one-to-one meeting. Or perhaps he'll be wearing his running shoes. If he turns up in a politically correct electric car, I'm determined to tell him that the coal-fired power stations responsible for powering these vehicles are anything but emissions-free.
I'm slightly taken aback when he arrives in a big, British-built car. I honestly can't remember the last time I saw or heard of such a high-profile politician driving himself. His car isn't new and there are telltale signs – from the resident's parking permit to personal effects – that it's a real-world workhorse.
"People know me as a cyclist but, like millions of others, I'm also a father with a young family and we rely on having a car," he explains. "So I know that things have been tough at the petrol and diesel pumps over the last few years, and when I've filled the car I've been confronted with some frankly astronomic bills.
"Add that to the way this government has hammered people with stealth taxes and retrospective Vehicle Excise Duty hikes, then it's clear that we [the Conservatives] have got to do things very differently and make life easier for families facing these sorts of sky-high motoring bills."
Days ahead of the General Election, Cameron is speaking about motoring-related matters strictly on the record and therefore what he is giving me is the official Conservative party line. No doubt about it in my mind – he is formally saying in the clearest terms that if his party wins power, it will assist those whose car-related running costs have been forced through the roof during more than a dozen years of Labour rule.
So far, so good. But then Cameron spoils it by admitting that he will start building a high-speed rail line between London and, eventually, the far north of Britain, although he doesn't explain how he'll be able to pay for it.
He adds that he'll support what he describes as "green" initiatives to encourage walking, cycling and bus use. But the position his Conservatives are adopting on city-centre congestion charging is less than clear. Officially, "we will free local transport funding from the requirement to introduce congestion charging". But at the same time London's Tory Mayor, Boris Johnson, has not scrapped the £8 a day charge he inherited from his Labour predecessor, Ken Livingstone. And that's worrying.
On a more positive note, Cameron says he will crack down on disruptive roadworks, grant more powers to local authorities to get traffic moving, give rogue clampers a much-needed kicking and facilitate a switch to "green" (that word again!) motoring by creating a national recharging network for electric cars.
His proposed "lorry road user charge" aimed at forcing foreign truckers to pay their fair share of road taxes or stay off our overcrowded roads has to be a good thing. His call for a reduction in work-related travel also suggests that he believes this will greatly ease the pressure on rush-hour roads and railways, while reducing commuting costs for those employees able to work from home.
I respectfully pull Cameron up on his "it's time that motorists got a fairer deal" slogan. Over the years I've had one-to-one conversations with Tony Blair, Alistair Darling, John Prescott and other leaders who have all waffled about fairness for car drivers – but they still went on to express enthusiasm for reduced road space, huge increases in existing motoring taxes, plus the introduction of new road-user taxes such as congestion charging, motorway tolls and workplace parking levies.
"But with our fair fuel stabiliser, for example, that's exactly what motorists will get – a fairer deal," Cameron promises.
How, where, when? He needs to explain. "It's simple: when oil prices rise, fuel duty will fall and vice versa. So instead of the unpredictable situation we've got now as we're battered by the global oil markets, with our plan, prices at the pump would be more consistent. We can help families by cutting fuel taxes when global prices rise. That's the kind of real, responsible difference to motorists a Conservative government would bring."
What about road tolls? Labour doesn't deny that they could cost up to £1.30 per mile. The Lib Dems and Conservatives have not rejected this figure. So where does David Cameron stand?
"Look, we would put an end to Labour's plans for a spy-in-the-sky national system of road-user charging, which looks like an IT disaster waiting to happen. But we think tolling can be appropriate in some circumstances for helping to create new capacity on the national road network.
"The M6 Toll has proved that this sort of scheme can work, where drivers choose to use a new, alternative road in return for paying for this new capacity.
"But if you're asking if we have plans to introduce tolls for either existing roads, or new lanes on existing roads, the answer is no."
He says he'll "stop central funding for new fixed speed cameras". There have to be "better ways" to make the roads safer, he argues. The "drugalyser" will be one of the many hi-tech devices he'll be using in an attempt to reduce road deaths, accidents and injuries.
"But I warn you now, there's not a lot of money about," he says, shaking his head in apparent despair. He gives the distinct impression that if and when he gets into Downing Street he'll discover the full horror of Britain's financial woes. And that almost certainly means motorists can largely forget about new or greatly improved roads and other big projects in the years ahead.
One of Cameron's minders tries to warn him that he's probably said enough, but he ignores her, looks me in the eye and says: "I'm a friend of the motorist. Why wouldn't I be? Like I said, I'm a motorist myself."
What's more, he's not embarrassed by the fact that he is good friends with an unapologetic, politically incorrect petrolhead named Jeremy Clarkson.
It's not my job to suggest which way you might vote next Thursday. But of all the would-be or serving prime ministers (including Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Blair) I've interviewed over three decades, I can honestly say I've never met one as pro-motorist as David Cameron.
Feel free to delete if a repost, but seems to be good news.I'm slightly taken aback when he arrives in a big, British-built car. I honestly can't remember the last time I saw or heard of such a high-profile politician driving himself. His car isn't new and there are telltale signs – from the resident's parking permit to personal effects – that it's a real-world workhorse.
"People know me as a cyclist but, like millions of others, I'm also a father with a young family and we rely on having a car," he explains. "So I know that things have been tough at the petrol and diesel pumps over the last few years, and when I've filled the car I've been confronted with some frankly astronomic bills.
"Add that to the way this government has hammered people with stealth taxes and retrospective Vehicle Excise Duty hikes, then it's clear that we [the Conservatives] have got to do things very differently and make life easier for families facing these sorts of sky-high motoring bills."
Days ahead of the General Election, Cameron is speaking about motoring-related matters strictly on the record and therefore what he is giving me is the official Conservative party line. No doubt about it in my mind – he is formally saying in the clearest terms that if his party wins power, it will assist those whose car-related running costs have been forced through the roof during more than a dozen years of Labour rule.
So far, so good. But then Cameron spoils it by admitting that he will start building a high-speed rail line between London and, eventually, the far north of Britain, although he doesn't explain how he'll be able to pay for it.
He adds that he'll support what he describes as "green" initiatives to encourage walking, cycling and bus use. But the position his Conservatives are adopting on city-centre congestion charging is less than clear. Officially, "we will free local transport funding from the requirement to introduce congestion charging". But at the same time London's Tory Mayor, Boris Johnson, has not scrapped the £8 a day charge he inherited from his Labour predecessor, Ken Livingstone. And that's worrying.
On a more positive note, Cameron says he will crack down on disruptive roadworks, grant more powers to local authorities to get traffic moving, give rogue clampers a much-needed kicking and facilitate a switch to "green" (that word again!) motoring by creating a national recharging network for electric cars.
His proposed "lorry road user charge" aimed at forcing foreign truckers to pay their fair share of road taxes or stay off our overcrowded roads has to be a good thing. His call for a reduction in work-related travel also suggests that he believes this will greatly ease the pressure on rush-hour roads and railways, while reducing commuting costs for those employees able to work from home.
I respectfully pull Cameron up on his "it's time that motorists got a fairer deal" slogan. Over the years I've had one-to-one conversations with Tony Blair, Alistair Darling, John Prescott and other leaders who have all waffled about fairness for car drivers – but they still went on to express enthusiasm for reduced road space, huge increases in existing motoring taxes, plus the introduction of new road-user taxes such as congestion charging, motorway tolls and workplace parking levies.
"But with our fair fuel stabiliser, for example, that's exactly what motorists will get – a fairer deal," Cameron promises.
How, where, when? He needs to explain. "It's simple: when oil prices rise, fuel duty will fall and vice versa. So instead of the unpredictable situation we've got now as we're battered by the global oil markets, with our plan, prices at the pump would be more consistent. We can help families by cutting fuel taxes when global prices rise. That's the kind of real, responsible difference to motorists a Conservative government would bring."
What about road tolls? Labour doesn't deny that they could cost up to £1.30 per mile. The Lib Dems and Conservatives have not rejected this figure. So where does David Cameron stand?
"Look, we would put an end to Labour's plans for a spy-in-the-sky national system of road-user charging, which looks like an IT disaster waiting to happen. But we think tolling can be appropriate in some circumstances for helping to create new capacity on the national road network.
"The M6 Toll has proved that this sort of scheme can work, where drivers choose to use a new, alternative road in return for paying for this new capacity.
"But if you're asking if we have plans to introduce tolls for either existing roads, or new lanes on existing roads, the answer is no."
He says he'll "stop central funding for new fixed speed cameras". There have to be "better ways" to make the roads safer, he argues. The "drugalyser" will be one of the many hi-tech devices he'll be using in an attempt to reduce road deaths, accidents and injuries.
"But I warn you now, there's not a lot of money about," he says, shaking his head in apparent despair. He gives the distinct impression that if and when he gets into Downing Street he'll discover the full horror of Britain's financial woes. And that almost certainly means motorists can largely forget about new or greatly improved roads and other big projects in the years ahead.
One of Cameron's minders tries to warn him that he's probably said enough, but he ignores her, looks me in the eye and says: "I'm a friend of the motorist. Why wouldn't I be? Like I said, I'm a motorist myself."
What's more, he's not embarrassed by the fact that he is good friends with an unapologetic, politically incorrect petrolhead named Jeremy Clarkson.
It's not my job to suggest which way you might vote next Thursday. But of all the would-be or serving prime ministers (including Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Blair) I've interviewed over three decades, I can honestly say I've never met one as pro-motorist as David Cameron.
The fuel stabiliser sounds like a silly idea really. If the price rises far enough will they subsidise fuel?
A nice gesture for a "friend of the motorist" would be lower fuel tax, and if he were to renounce properly the hollow obsession with MMGW, no fuel tax at all beyond the normal duty paid on goods - ie VAT.
A nice gesture for a "friend of the motorist" would be lower fuel tax, and if he were to renounce properly the hollow obsession with MMGW, no fuel tax at all beyond the normal duty paid on goods - ie VAT.
Well, in case anyone's thinking of voting Clegg in, bloke in the Telegraph also wrote:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/columnists/mik...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/columnists/mik...
There are rumblings throughout the classic car forums that the Tories will consider reintroducing the rolling 25-year (corrected back to 38) free tax limit for classic vehicles. If that was confirmed it'd be an instanst vote winner but I can't see it happening.
Gain the motorist vote, loose the looney left green vote.
Gain the motorist vote, loose the looney left green vote.
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