Lib Dems Gain West Lindsey District Council

This week's by-elections saw the Lib Dems gain Gainsborough Lea ward from an Independent. The result means that West Lindsey DC is now LD 19, Con 17, Ind 1 and the Lib Dems have majority control of a council that until May 4th was Tory.

As the (volunteer) Local Elections Officer for the East Midlands Lib Dems I can tell you that the Lib Dems now have majorities on 3 councils in the region. Also the leaders of 6 councils in this part of the world are Liberal Democrat cllrs (as part of majority or minority administrations)

Targetting those..... Part 2

Back to the 4x4 /SUV issue (and I see the Lib Dem VED and indeed air travel policies have got some publicity today)

I was accused of demonising all 4x4 drivers. Well I wouldn't quite call it that but perhaps I could have been more precise:

- Not all 4x4s are the top polluters;
- so it follows that not all 4x4 drivers are selfish. And of course some 4x4s are essential for professional use.

But there are a hell of a lot of top polluting SUVs and 4X4s out there that are just fashion accessories. But fashion accessories that are adding to greenhouse gas emissions. Individually a 4x4 that goes out on the occaisional journey may seem to be not a big deal but the sums add up. Just like that coal fired power station, those short haul and long haul flights.

I would like here to pay tribute to my commenters Alex/ Richard, who have pulled me up short on my random generalising (there's no fun left in the world - I'll tell you). I even have to add an extra category of responsible 4x4 owners: hardly use it but carbon offset the emissions and not even in that temporary "we'll plant some trees" way.

To continue: switching to a lower emission vehicle might not seem like making a big difference, nor does turning off the TV rather than leaving it on standby or putting a wind turbine on your roof. But spread across millions of people, particularly when we are looking at an industrialised China & India joining the "developed" energy-rich world, it is crucial to the environmental future of the planet.

Finally as a tall chap myself (6'5") I have found it difficult to find a suitable car to drive too. I learnt to drive in a Corsa 5 years ago. We had a Vectra for a while but it wasn't good for my back. My older Cavalier was/is better for that. Now we have a Zafira - much better for someone my height but the 204 g/km of CO2 it chucks out is not ideal. Not so much a tank, more like an APC.

In fact there is web site that rates cars by ergomic comfort:
http://www.car-seat-data.co.uk/#projects

Targetting those minorities Part 1

Alex has left a comment about my Get Your Tanks Off Our Roads article. I am a little taken aback by the robustness of the comments but it raises several important points about my views that need clarifying, to the extent that they deserve a blog article or two rather than a comment back.

I'll have to do this in two parts because I don't have the time to answer all Alex's points in one go:

1) I don't post very often because I don't have the time. I chose 4x4s and the BNP as topics of my most recent posts because they are issues that I want to write about. Not because I am looking to tackle them to the exclusion of other issues. If I had time, I'd hold forth about the Monarchy, Blair's lack of consistency on human rights and immigration, over packing of goods in shops and yes air travel amongst other issues.

2) 4x4s are also something as a cyclist and driver that I see everyday. Again this makes me likely to write about it. Every time I walk, cucle or drive down the road, I see them.

3) Not all 4x4s are as bad as other cars, as the Alliance Against Urban 4x4s makes clear.

I'll come to Alex's other points, particularly about Liberalism when I have a moment

Vote Blue to Go 4x4

A Tory councillor in neighbouring Wigston has been snapped parked on the zig-zag lines outside a local school in the morning rush-hour.

Alan Cocksedge, Borough councillor for Wigston St. Wolstan's ward was in his 4x4 Range Rover with a personalised number plate. It was this plate that allowed a parent to spot that it was him.

Do new Tory values include breaking traffic laws, endangering children and further adding to climate change with their Chelsea Tractors?

Add this to a recent report in the Sunday Times that another Tory Councillor (this time in Lincolnshire) has switched to the BNP and we begin to see that the Conservatives still have a very long way to go to show that they have embraced key Liberal values such a tolerance, inclusion, internationalism and environmentalism.

Get your tanks off our roads

I've added a link to the Alliance Against Urban 4x4s. The whole SUV/ 4x4 area is the latest example of Labour timidity in the face of Climate Change. An increase in vehicle duty of around the price of half a tank of petrol is not going to deter the selfish and irresponsible people who insist on buy and driving these things.

Sadly UK drivers are buying 4x4s at an increased rate, far more than drivers across the rest of Europe. Labour's inaction has contributed to this sales boom. It really makes me wonder what sort of world our two-year-old son is going to grow up in.

The one small patch of sunshine in this gloom in the news in the Observer that,
"The Lib Dems will push to raise the top car tax rate from £210 to £2,000 for the most polluting vehicles, including many 4x4s and BMW 7 series models this week. The move, which would apply only to vehicles being registered for the first time, will be launched as an amendment to the finance bill, which puts the Budget into law."

Great stuff. We also need to start taxing the existing vehicles off our roads. Perhaps with a phased increase in tax to allow people to change their car. And higher congestion charge. I mean who in their right mind would want to drive a 4x4 through London?

As for the problems of a high tax on 4x4s for farmers etc, the Lib Dems have thought of that. According to the Environmental Data Interactive News Centre,
"...the tax increase would not hit farmers and other country dwellers who may need a 4x4 for access. Not all 4x4s fall into the highest tax bracket, such as the Land Rover Freelander, which emits 205 g CO2/km.

A 50% tax reduction for rural dwellers would give rural dwellers extra protection from the effects of the tax. "This amendment is aimed at Chelsea tractors, not vital rural vehicles," the Lib Dems said in a statement.

The new tax would only apply to new cars, that is those being registered for the first time. Data for 2005 suggest that around 8% of new cars would fall into the most polluting bracket. Models include 4x4s like the Range Rover 4.4 V8, which burns as much as 389 g CO2 /km, luxury sports cars like the Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe, but also "family" cars like the Renault Espace 2 lite."