The Lib Dem council in Richmond is considering levying extra parking permit charges on cars which cause "unacceptable damage to the environment". They claim it could raise an extra million pounds a year. Meanwhile owners of very-low emission cars would park for free.The TV presenter Bamber Gascoigne, who lives in Richmond owns an electric car. He's welcomed the idea, telling BBC 5 Live;
"we certainly applaud it and I wanted to jump in and say something about the million pounds. What the council's document says is that if people didn't change their habits it would raise a million pounds extra. It's an incentive to people to change habits - it's a voluntary tax."
Comment...
What bullshit.
By that definition Bamber, nearly all taxes are voluntary. If I 'choose' to earn only 3 grand a year, I won't pay income tax! How about that!? Is that what you do Bamber? Thought not, or else how could you afford to trundle about leafy Richmond in your motorised egg-beater?
In Richmond, there are plenty of overpaid nouveaux-riches who can afford to switch their cars for vastly over-priced inefficient electric vehicles. They're on easy street. Meanwhile, the poor sods elsewhere who might one day be subjected to the greedy demands of socialist councils will have to struggle by with their crappy old gas guzzlers and pay the extra tax. Tax that upper middle class TV presenters like Gascoigne can stump up out of their ashtray change.
Besides, while Bamber's farting around at 3 miles an hour in his plastic food blender all that 'zero-emissions' electricity is coming from somewhere. Does Bamber think when he plugs his Moulinex Magimix into the mains every night that little power pixies descend from heaven to fill his batteries with guilt-free volts.
No, it just means all that nasty carbon is pumped out of a massive power station in the middle of the countryside instead of the middle of London, which is already a grotty, soot covered hell hole.
No offence Bamber.
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