Director Colin Howden comments on today’s UK Budget, criticising Labour’s decision to maintain a subsidy for private car use – and the missed opportunity for progressive transport reforms.
Today’s UK Budget was truly dismal for those who had hoped that Labour would bring about a more progressive approach on transport taxation.
The decision to retain the previous administration’s fuel duty freeze further worsens the competitive position of public transport against car use. We’ve had fourteen years of this and yet Labour has decided to continue Tory policies which have literally driven people away from public transport and into private cars.
It would appear that UK Labour is interested in ‘working people’ who drive but not those who use public transport.
Given the crass failure of leadership demonstrated by the UK Government on fuel duty, perhaps we should not be surprised to find that the Budget documents appear to continue no reference to the reform of motoring taxation –and, in particular, moves towards road pricing.
In the previous session of Parliament, the cross-party Westminster transport select committee demanded “radical reform” and concluded that “a failure to replace existing motoring taxes with an alternative road charging mechanism will lead to either decreased investment in public services, including road maintenance, or increased Government borrowing.” But here we are two years later, and the issue appears to have entirely evaporated from Labour’s plans.
The other note-worthy point is the additional £3.4bn Barnett Consequentials funding to Scotland, with the UK Chancellor indicating that this should be used to deliver improved public services in Scotland. Of course, these funds will be allotted to the Scottish Ministers to spend, so it remains to be seen whether any of the capital expenditure component (£610m) of this is invested in transport, and, if so, goes towards reinstating investment that it has cut in buses, walking and cycling over the past year, or is instead frittered away on the Scottish Government’s multi-billion pound road-building programme.
The Chancellor did announce some measures which will benefit transport in England, including some new rail links, an extra £500m for road maintenance, plus a reversal of the myopic decision by the previous administration to terminate HS2 miles short of a central London terminus. Its decision not to scrap the English bus fare cap has drawn positive reaction, but it still represents a 50% increase for bus passengers there at a time when car users are benefitting from a real terms cut in motoring costs.
At least the UK Government can at least be credited with movement on taxation on private jets, with a 50% increase in air passenger duty for those travelling on private jets, although I personally doubt that a £450 increase will dissuade Rishi Sunak (personal wealth c. £650,000,000) from his binge-flying.
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