Those in the UK can't have failed to notice the Blair Governments latest
"Bright New Idea" - replacing our extortionate fuel taxes with extortionate
road pricing. For the benefit of those outside the UK, the idea is that
different roads at different times of day will have different prices - a
country road at 2am will be as low as 2p per mile, while a major route in
rush-hour could be as much as #1.35 per mile.
Initially the idea sounded abhorrent to me: Firstly, it's bound to be an
opportunity for the government to extort more money than it does already.
Secondly, it hits the poorest hardest - at the moment a rich bloke in a fuel
guzzling Jaguar burns more fuel, so he pays more tax, than a poor person in
a tiddly hatchback; the new system would charge them all the same (as well
as removing the incentive for fuel-efficient cars). Thirdly, I don't want
the government to be able to track my every move, knowing where and when I
am!
Then it occurred to me - this is a great idea! I'd love to see someone try
to fit a tracking device to my BGT in such a way that I couldn't disconnect
it, or even remove it completely. I'm even toying with the idea of
converting my car (a '73) to Positive Earth - that should really f*** up
their little box of tricks!!
I doubt I could convert my wife's Berlingo to positive earth, so I might
have to replace that with something with more pre-historic electrics. Maybe
a Jensen Interceptor - they seem quite spacious as well as fast, and since
the fuel tax is supposed to be dropped in this new scheme the high fuel
consumption shouldn't be such a problem...
Richard Gosling
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