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Quite the slap down for wee Dougie

I have gone on record as saying that the N0. 10 Petitions site is little more than a place for the Great British public to howl into a vacuum, in that the Government is not going to be swayed from a course of action because a number of people have taken a few seconds to put their names to a petition. Quite apart from the scope for such an approach to lead to all sorts of inconsistencies - want a 50% increase in health spending and a 50% tax cut? - it would lead to the administration paying heed to whoever shouts the loudest.

So, I was intrigued that Douglas Alexander at Transport told the Mirror that, "Unless motorists and families can see the benefits of bringing in a national road pricing system then it simply won't happen".

Some poor soul at the DoT has had the task of clearing up the mess:

"Taken out of context Mr Alexander's comments are probably slightly misleading. I think what he is trying to get across is that it is a time for more debate not less and it is a question of conveying to the people what road charging is all about and that it is not a question of doing nothing. Public acceptability of such schemes is one of the major milestones that has to be achieved as well as carrying out the pilot schemes. "We have always said that we have to see the results of the pilot schemes before we make a decision on a national road charging scheme." (Source)

So what that means is that Winston Smith will not freed from incarceration until he loves Big Brother with all his heart.

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This entry was posted on Monday, February 12, 2007 at 9:59 am. You can skip to the end and leave a response.

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Blogger Guthrum said... 10:39 am

The words hoisted and petard come to mind here- No 10 wanting to prove how in touch they are ,set up the petition site, cynically thinking it will attract a few nutters who usually write dear Prime minister letters. The fact that 5% of the working population has bothered to go online and sign has left them looking more than a little exposed. Ignore the petition and they look arrogant and out of touch, accepting the petition puts a rather large hole in what passes for a transport policy. In the abscence of any viable public transport, a car is an essential item outside of the lasrge conurbations where the bulk of us live. So not unaturally this policy is just seen as another revenue scam.  



Anonymous Anonymous said... 1:27 pm

Five per cent of the working population ... and the working population, so The Torygraph informs us today, is only 66% of the adult population, with a full one-third of homes being supported by workers in that 66%.  



Blogger CityUnslicker said... 5:38 pm

from a market perpsective road prciing is a good idea. Clearly, the State getting involved screws everything up.

The overall concept of paying for high demand is a good one though. The way to do it is to privatise the roads. Ah, imagine that!  



Blogger James Higham said... 10:02 pm

...to howl into a vacuum...

Not only that but to be placed on file for later retrieval and incarceration as an insurgent.

Interesting that you finish with Winston Smith.  



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