Sunday, October 29, 2006

Miliband behind "secret" green taxes.

Eco taxes by stealth.

David Miliband must be well pleased that Google's Blogger network has been plagued with problems today, millions of bloggers around the world have been unable to upload posts, and thousands in the U.K. will have been unable to comment on the contents of the 'leaked' letter that he sent to Gordon Brown.

Miliband, it seems, is behind moves to introduce a swathe of green taxes in an effort to encourage us, through market forces and pricing measure, to reduce our personal carbon emissions, and reduce the U.K.'s 2% contribution to global emissions. I am much in favour of environmental taxes, but they must not be used simply as a source of additional revenue for H.M. Treasury! Whatever revenue is raised through these measures MUST be offset by reductions elsewhere, using the environment as an excuse to fatten Gordon Brown's coffers is not acceptable.

His ideas to reintroduce a fuel tax escalator producing even more funds for the Treasury, even when the price of oil is falling, is an outrage, it is a hidden stealth tax of the worst kind. If New Labour can't be up front on fiscal measures then how on earth do they expect to earn respect?

HOWEVER, if the government were to make solid concrete green commitments, with well thought out plans to invest the additional revenues in imaginative workable solutions to the greenhouse gas problems, then perhaps we might come on board. We need to see responses such as a new contract to include solar panels and wind turbines and renewable materials in all new commercial and housing developments, decisions to build wind turbines and tidal barrages to support the U.K.'s energy needs, a commitment to phase out the petrol engine by subsidising the building of biofuel engines in the U.K. or building hybrid fuel cell cars such as driven by Mr. Miliband (we need them too at a price WE can afford.) There are other measures to be taken too, landfill needs to be phased out, complex incineration needs to be considered, large scale composting needs to be encouraged, - you will note that I used the word 'encouraged' - we do not need measures forced down our throats such as the spy in the bin! Recent attacks on householders through the courts will only provoke people to be belligerent, recycling will go out of the window, along with most of our refuse along roads and hedgerows.

As our MP, I know that Mr. Miliband is well intentioned and has a passion for delivering on the Kyoto Agreement, but the plans he has outlined to the Chancellor, as reported in the Mail on Sunday will need a concensus to be generally accepted, they will not be popular if introduced by either 'stealth' or 'dictat'.

Link

The Mail on Sunday

# posted by Curly : 7:19 pm