If there was ever any doubt that the congestion charge in London was nothing more than a tax then now we know the truth. It is a tax, pure and simple.
The original idea of it was to cut the amount of cars driving through London, hence the name congestion charge. To some extent it worked. The poor could no longer afford to drive in London leaving the roads a little bit clearer for the rich.
But not content with fleecing motorists for £8 evertime they drive into our capital city, on roads they have already paid for many times over anyway, he now wants to raise it even higher. But only if you drive the wrong type of car!
Basicaly people driving higher polluting cars will pay more, as much as £25! The reason for this, according to Barmy ken, the minorities friend, is to force people to drive less poluting cars.
So suddenly, the congestion charge has changed from a device to stop cars from going into London to a tool to try and force us all to go green. He no longer cares how many cars go through London, as long as they are environmently friendly!
Which means it is no longer a congestion charge but is now a pollution tax! I just hope that there are enough of us driving the wrong type of cars who decide he is the wrong type of mayor and kick him out. The man is a total prat!
His idea doesn't even work! It is completely nonsensicle and will actually cause more pollution! Why? This is why.
Take a journey from Richmond Surrey to Basildon Essex. It is about 45 miles going through London and in a 2.3 litre car costs two gallon of fuel plus £8 charge, about £17 in total. You can go around London and do about 60-65 miles and use another £4 of fuel and not pay the charge, saving £4. Because it is easier to go trhough the middle and the difference is only £4 a lot of people still go through the middle. Raise that charge to £25, so the difference is £21 and everbody will go around the outside.
Great, everyone thinks, it has done what it is supposed to do, cut the cars going through London. Except that now that is not what it is for, it is now supposed to be to cut pollution.
So how does hundreds of thousands of motorists scurting London, driving an extra twenty miles and using an extra gallon of petrol each cut pollution exactly?
Okay the pollution wont be in central London and the minorities holding their parties in Trafalgar square will have cleaner air to breathe. But what about the millions of people around the outskirts of London who will see polution rise by up to 33%, see even more traffic on their already congested roads and have their kids killed and injured in this extra traffic?
His answer to this? Well they can intorduce a congestion charge!
This charge is now nothing but another tax, a nasty one that hits the driver of older cars, the poor, while allowing those who can afford it to buy the latest cleanest car and pay very little. It is typical of the way socialists and communists work. Keep the poor as poor as possible, that way they are easier to control!
Here is Jade flashing her bits at you.
