This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/28/tories-motorists-rogue-parking-sajid-javid-cars-road
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| The Tories are doing a handbrake turn when it comes to motorists | The Tories are doing a handbrake turn when it comes to motorists |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Sun 28 Jan 2018 18.46 GMT | Sun 28 Jan 2018 18.46 GMT |
| Last modified on Sun 28 Jan 2018 22.00 GMT | |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| View more sharing options | View more sharing options |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Close | Close |
| I am therefore I drive. Almost 140 years after the unveiling by Karl Benz of the first petrol-propelled car we might recognise, and even in our air-polluted 21st century, this remains a maxim – one that the government, ever more desperate for any populist adhesive, swears by. Thus Sajid Javid, the communities secretary, let it be known today that he too is the motorist’s bestest friend, and will do something to lift the nightmare that is parking. | I am therefore I drive. Almost 140 years after the unveiling by Karl Benz of the first petrol-propelled car we might recognise, and even in our air-polluted 21st century, this remains a maxim – one that the government, ever more desperate for any populist adhesive, swears by. Thus Sajid Javid, the communities secretary, let it be known today that he too is the motorist’s bestest friend, and will do something to lift the nightmare that is parking. |
| His focus is the privatised – or rogue – parking industry. To that end, he will throw the government’s weight behind legislation proposed by the Conservative MP Greg Knight to penalise operators who unfairly issue tickets. It will do this by blocking their access to driver vehicle records. If the firms cannot match vehicle to owner, they can’t do their jobs and will probably cease to be viable. Javid’s intervention means the bill will pass its second reading this week and probably become law. Boo to the parking highwaymen. Hooray for a communities secretary standing up for the “just about managing”. That, of course, is the narrative the secretary of state would like. | His focus is the privatised – or rogue – parking industry. To that end, he will throw the government’s weight behind legislation proposed by the Conservative MP Greg Knight to penalise operators who unfairly issue tickets. It will do this by blocking their access to driver vehicle records. If the firms cannot match vehicle to owner, they can’t do their jobs and will probably cease to be viable. Javid’s intervention means the bill will pass its second reading this week and probably become law. Boo to the parking highwaymen. Hooray for a communities secretary standing up for the “just about managing”. That, of course, is the narrative the secretary of state would like. |
| Hooray for standing up for the 'just about managing'. That, of course, is the narrative the secretary of state would like | Hooray for standing up for the 'just about managing'. That, of course, is the narrative the secretary of state would like |
| Cowboy operators don’t, and shouldn’t, elicit much sympathy. Private firms are issuing 13 times as many parking tickets as they did a decade ago, according to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. Many are making hay as well as profits. And certainly there is disgruntlement: Citizens Advice says 10,000 people approached it for help on disputed tickets last year. | Cowboy operators don’t, and shouldn’t, elicit much sympathy. Private firms are issuing 13 times as many parking tickets as they did a decade ago, according to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. Many are making hay as well as profits. And certainly there is disgruntlement: Citizens Advice says 10,000 people approached it for help on disputed tickets last year. |
| But there is something perverse about ministers who have made privatisation of anything that might yield a shareholder buck an article of faith, pointing a moralising finger at those who have benefited. In motoring terms, isn’t this something of a handbrake turn? | But there is something perverse about ministers who have made privatisation of anything that might yield a shareholder buck an article of faith, pointing a moralising finger at those who have benefited. In motoring terms, isn’t this something of a handbrake turn? |
| One can see why parking might be singled out by a Brexit-constipated government, keen to reinvent itself as Robin Hood. There is barely a town or city across our nation that isn’t gripped by disputes over the relationship between vehicular use and road space. But Westminster has made these problems worse. Quite apart from the injudicious application of profit-hungry market forces to the stewardship of that relationship, it has starved local authorities of funds, and thus prioritised for them the voracious collection of parking revenues. Ditto hospitals that find themselves desperate for income as a result of underfunding by the state. | One can see why parking might be singled out by a Brexit-constipated government, keen to reinvent itself as Robin Hood. There is barely a town or city across our nation that isn’t gripped by disputes over the relationship between vehicular use and road space. But Westminster has made these problems worse. Quite apart from the injudicious application of profit-hungry market forces to the stewardship of that relationship, it has starved local authorities of funds, and thus prioritised for them the voracious collection of parking revenues. Ditto hospitals that find themselves desperate for income as a result of underfunding by the state. |
| It is not for national governments to micromanage who gets to stop outside a corner shop in a particular town, or the optimum loading time for deliveries in your local high street. But it is certainly not acceptable for national politics to make those problems more acute. | It is not for national governments to micromanage who gets to stop outside a corner shop in a particular town, or the optimum loading time for deliveries in your local high street. But it is certainly not acceptable for national politics to make those problems more acute. |
| And it is time national government got to the heart of the matter by addressing in a studious fashion our relationship with the car, particularly in the conurbations. There is a simple truth, and ministers know it: we have too many cars, and drive them too much. | And it is time national government got to the heart of the matter by addressing in a studious fashion our relationship with the car, particularly in the conurbations. There is a simple truth, and ministers know it: we have too many cars, and drive them too much. |
| “Conservatives believe that poor air quality is the largest environmental threat to public health in the UK,” said a party party press release last year. But there has been no sign of action commensurate with that threat. Nitrogen dioxide, emitted mostly by diesel cars, has been above legal limits in almost 90% of urban areas in the UK since 2010, with fumes causing an estimated 23,500 early deaths a year. In April 2016 a cross-party committee of MPs declared a public health emergency. Yet the government’s reaction has been so poor that campaigners have twice won legal actions over its failure to act. It’s now being sued a third time. | “Conservatives believe that poor air quality is the largest environmental threat to public health in the UK,” said a party party press release last year. But there has been no sign of action commensurate with that threat. Nitrogen dioxide, emitted mostly by diesel cars, has been above legal limits in almost 90% of urban areas in the UK since 2010, with fumes causing an estimated 23,500 early deaths a year. In April 2016 a cross-party committee of MPs declared a public health emergency. Yet the government’s reaction has been so poor that campaigners have twice won legal actions over its failure to act. It’s now being sued a third time. |
| You would think economics might drive the policy of a profit-loving, market-oriented administration. After all, it is estimated that the congestion caused by cars could bleed £300bn from the economy by 2030. But our economy also needs us to keep buying, or leasing, all those cars. A few days ago the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reported a 5.7% fall last year in new car sales, but pointed out that demand remains “at historically high levels” – 2016 saw a record 2.7m new car sales, and leasers claimed that over 80% of those new private registrations were financed by its members. | You would think economics might drive the policy of a profit-loving, market-oriented administration. After all, it is estimated that the congestion caused by cars could bleed £300bn from the economy by 2030. But our economy also needs us to keep buying, or leasing, all those cars. A few days ago the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reported a 5.7% fall last year in new car sales, but pointed out that demand remains “at historically high levels” – 2016 saw a record 2.7m new car sales, and leasers claimed that over 80% of those new private registrations were financed by its members. |
| So if you’re waiting for decisive action to curb the number of cars on the road, don’t hold your breath. What you will get instead from ministers is fist-shaking at the perfidious private firms – the villains from central casting; vague talk about how driverless cars will solve everything, and entreaties for people to drive less (without the spending on transport infrastructure – including cycling – that would make it possible). All of which reflects the overriding truth that in our hidebound politics, the car is still king. | So if you’re waiting for decisive action to curb the number of cars on the road, don’t hold your breath. What you will get instead from ministers is fist-shaking at the perfidious private firms – the villains from central casting; vague talk about how driverless cars will solve everything, and entreaties for people to drive less (without the spending on transport infrastructure – including cycling – that would make it possible). All of which reflects the overriding truth that in our hidebound politics, the car is still king. |
| • Hugh Muir is a Guardian columnist | • Hugh Muir is a Guardian columnist |
| Transport policy | Transport policy |
| Opinion | Opinion |
| Road transport | Road transport |
| Air pollution | Air pollution |
| Sajid Javid | Sajid Javid |
| comment | comment |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |