• Login
  • Register
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Premium
  • Donate
  • Log In
The Daily Sceptic
No Result
View All Result

Rishi Sunak Should Overrule Local Councils’ Attacks on Motorists, Including Unwanted 15-Minute Cities

by Toby Young
19 February 2023 9:00 AM

Ross Clark has written a great piece for the Telegraph urging the Prime Minister to over-rule the crackpot schemes of local politicians to impose more taxes on motorists, such as Sadiq Khan’s planned extension of London’s Ultra Low Emissions Zone. He thinks it would be popular and might even revive the Conservative’s flagging fortunes.

Four London boroughs, as well as Surrey County Council, have launched a judicial review of the Ulez extension, alleging that Khan deliberately targeted his consultation at younger, non-motorists in an effort to swing the results in his favour – and then ignored evidence that two thirds of respondents were against the scheme. But why should it be left to borough councils to fight it out with Khan? The proliferation of low-emission zones, congestion charges and “15-minute cities” demands that the Government step in and formulate a national policy on what councils can charge for and how they can charge for it.

I wouldn’t object if the Government replaced fuel duty and road tax with a national road pricing scheme, which charged us all a simple, easy-to-understand tariff according to where we had driven – and then billed us in a civilised manner. As electric cars start to eat into income from fuel duty, such a system is probably inevitable.

But what we have is a bunch of councils acting as highwaymen, instigating a patchwork of aggressively enforced charging schemes. London, Bristol and Birmingham all now have low-emission zones, London with a congestion charge on top. Oxford and Canterbury are developing bizarre schemes where you can drive in and out but get hammered if you cross from one mysterious zone to another. Then there are tolls for the Dartford and Mersey bridges. We are supposed to know where these schemes are, what their rules are and how to pay them – even when we are visiting an unfamiliar part of the country. Then we are given no more than 48 hours to pay – or else a fine arrives in the post. It is not safe to drive anywhere in Britain without an encyclopedic knowledge of local government road-charging schemes.

What an excellent idea. Worth reading in full.

Stop Press: There was a protest in Oxford yesterday against the local council’s plan to create 15-minute neighbourhoods that attracted a lively counter-protest, with black-clad demonstrators carrying signs saying, ‘No to racism, no to fascism’ and ‘Don’t let the fascists divide us’.

Stop Press 2: The traffic-calming measures in Canterbury, whereby the city is going to be divided into seven different zones with restricted travel by car between them, is actually the brainchild of a the city council’s Conservative leader Ben Fitter-Harding, with the Labour and Lib Dem councillors opposing them. One Conservative councillor, who dismissed the plan as a “utopian dream”, says he hasn’t met a single resident who’s in favour of it and fears a wipe-out at the next election if Mr. Fitter-Harding presses ahead. The Telegraph has more.

Tags: 15-Minute CitiesLTNsSadiq KhanUlez Expansion SchemeWar on Motorists

Donate

We depend on your donations to keep this site going. Please give what you can.

Donate Today

Comment on this Article

You’ll need to set up an account to comment if you don’t already have one. We ask for a minimum donation of £5 if you'd like to make a comment or post in our Forums.

Sign Up
Previous Post

Company Trying to Demonetise Right-of-Centre News Publishers is Funded by the Foreign Office

Next Post

Are Gen Z Sick of Woke?

Subscribe
Login
Notify of
Please log in to comment

To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.

Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.

46 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

NEWSLETTER

View today’s newsletter

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

DONATE

PODCAST

The Sceptic | Episode 40: Rob Bates on Stopping Britain Becoming Majority-Minority, Tilak Doshi on Trump vs Green Blob and Mario Trabucco on Osborne’s Elgin Marbles Betrayal

by Richard Eldred
13 June 2025
1

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editor’s Picks

News Round-Up

19 June 2025
by Richard Eldred

Solar Power to Blame for Spain’s Disastrous Blackout, Official Investigation Finds

18 June 2025
by Will Jones

J.K. Rowling Radicalised by TERFs, Says Stephen Fry

19 June 2025
by Will Jones

Ed Miliband is Losing the Fight for Net Zero

19 June 2025
by Ben Pile

Another Nail in the EV Coffin

19 June 2025
by Sallust

J.K. Rowling Radicalised by TERFs, Says Stephen Fry

22

News Round-Up

21

Tearing Bodies Apart on the Altar of Science

21

Iran is Not Rational. It’s Part of the Islamist Death Cult

51

Ed Miliband is Losing the Fight for Net Zero

13

Iran Threatens Energy Market Meltdown as it “Reviews” Closure of Strait of Hormuz

19 June 2025
by Tilak Doshi

Ed Miliband is Losing the Fight for Net Zero

19 June 2025
by Ben Pile

Pointless International Research – Paid For By You, The Taxpayer

19 June 2025
by Charlotte Gill

Tearing Bodies Apart on the Altar of Science

18 June 2025
by Dr David Bell

German Pensioner Who Called Green Politician Robert Habeck a Moron Found Guilty of Five Criminal Retweets and Fined €825

18 June 2025
by Eugyppius

POSTS BY DATE

February 2023
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728  
« Jan   Mar »

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union

NEWSLETTER

View today’s newsletter

To receive our latest news in the form of a daily email, enter your details here:

POSTS BY DATE

February 2023
M T W T F S S
 12345
6789101112
13141516171819
20212223242526
2728  
« Jan   Mar »

DONATE

LISTED ARTICLES

  • Most Read
  • Most Commented
  • Editor’s Picks

News Round-Up

19 June 2025
by Richard Eldred

Solar Power to Blame for Spain’s Disastrous Blackout, Official Investigation Finds

18 June 2025
by Will Jones

J.K. Rowling Radicalised by TERFs, Says Stephen Fry

19 June 2025
by Will Jones

Ed Miliband is Losing the Fight for Net Zero

19 June 2025
by Ben Pile

Another Nail in the EV Coffin

19 June 2025
by Sallust

J.K. Rowling Radicalised by TERFs, Says Stephen Fry

22

News Round-Up

21

Tearing Bodies Apart on the Altar of Science

21

Iran is Not Rational. It’s Part of the Islamist Death Cult

51

Ed Miliband is Losing the Fight for Net Zero

13

Iran Threatens Energy Market Meltdown as it “Reviews” Closure of Strait of Hormuz

19 June 2025
by Tilak Doshi

Ed Miliband is Losing the Fight for Net Zero

19 June 2025
by Ben Pile

Pointless International Research – Paid For By You, The Taxpayer

19 June 2025
by Charlotte Gill

Tearing Bodies Apart on the Altar of Science

18 June 2025
by Dr David Bell

German Pensioner Who Called Green Politician Robert Habeck a Moron Found Guilty of Five Criminal Retweets and Fined €825

18 June 2025
by Eugyppius

SOCIAL LINKS

Free Speech Union
  • Home
  • About us
  • Donate
  • Privacy Policy

Facebook

  • X

Instagram

RSS

Subscribe to our newsletter

© Skeptics Ltd.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Articles
  • About
  • Archive
    • ARCHIVE
    • NEWS ROUND-UPS
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Premium
  • Donate
  • Log In

© Skeptics Ltd.

wpDiscuz
You are going to send email to

Move Comment