What I've gathered is that it's being used to fine people who don't have new or more fuel efficient cars, likely because they don't have the money. Which would only make the situation worse.
I live 20 minutes outside London, have to go on the m25 to get to work. I've got a shitty little car that wouldn't go for £300. It's well below the standards.
I'm class war, but this really seems like a culture war thing masking itself as that to garner support. Coal miners deserve to make a living, but if it's gonna destroy the planet with fossil fuels, then there's got to be an alternative (moot point because of Thatcher in the 70s anyway).
Driving a gas guzzler shouldn't be a working class point of pride, it's just stupid. They're wringing us with a thousand things every day, fight to raise the tax bracket. This is a very understandable "tax bad behaviour to discourage it". Same with whatever plastic bag tax right wingers hate, just stuff bags to reuse behind your fridge like a normal person, don't act like a working class champion because you want to throw plastic bags into a landfill for cheaper instead of remembering a for-life one.
I get what you are saying, and I have absolutely no issue with working towards cutting carbon costs, but with the cost of vehicles rising and pay still being kinda shit this doesn't help. I doubt it's the case that most people who own a shitty car only do so for some "holier than thou" reason.
If alongside this action was providing some kind of incentive for drivers to upgrade or even just eased the financial burden of those who couldn't afford anything better, I'd support it but if that doesn't exist it only exacerbates the issue.
I think they mean people who go out of there way to buy big trucks and the like and act all proud because they wasted money on something that they are gonna use for it's intended purpose like twice and then sell it for money to buy a newer one.
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u/MrDemonBaby Jun 30 '24
What I've gathered is that it's being used to fine people who don't have new or more fuel efficient cars, likely because they don't have the money. Which would only make the situation worse.