Looney Labour

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
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Taken from Express website

Labour plan £12,000 ‘TRUCKERS TAX’ if Jeremy Corbyn in No10 - Food prices could SOAR
LABOUR could bankrupt the UK haulage industry and spark chaos for consumers by inflating the cost of food, if a planned £6billion stealth tax on lorries is realised, say campaigners.

They claim lorry taxes would rise by £12,096 a year per truck if the Shadow Minister for the Treasury, Clive Lewis’, plans came into effect. Mr Lewis has said a Labour Government with John McDonnell in No11 would review the “entire spread of environmental taxes and tax reliefs”. He wants Ministers to have powers to amend Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) in order to use tax increases as an incentive to reduce pollution.

The Road Haulage Association has warned the stealth tax risks crippling the country’s 496,000-strong haulage industry, which moves 98 percent of all goods consumed in the UK.

Mr Burnett added: “Clive Lewis, sees our industry as the bad guys – the emission bandits.

“Nothing could be further from the truth.

“What is even more shocking is the cavalier approach of Mr Lewis, who is content to ‘see HGV businesses go out of business’ as a direct consequence of this tax hike.”

Defending the plan at the Commons Finance Bill Committee, Mr Lewis said: “No one wants to see HGV businesses go out of business, but everyone in Committee would agree that it is right for people to pay the appropriate level of tax.

“Research suggests that HGVs are paying for only 11 percent of their UK road infrastructure costs, predicting a shortfall of about £6billion.”

He added that “no one wants to see HGV businesses go out of business” but “it is right for people to pay the appropriate level of tax”.

Mr Lewis further cited a report by the Campaign For Better Transport charity that suggests HGVs should pay £6 billion more in taxes which would result in £12,096.77 more tax for each truck operated domestically.

But Richard Burnett, chief executive of the Road Haulage Association, said: “Britain’s hauliers already pay some of the highest taxes in Europe”.

He argued Mr Lewis’ comments were “naive” and “beyond belief”.

Tory MP Simon Hoare MP said the planned truckers tax would bring “Britain’s crucial haulage industry on its knees”.

He added: “It would also lead to a massive rise in the costs of basic goods at the supermarket for hardworking families."

A Labour spokesman said: “The real threat to hauliers is this Tory Government and their failure to secure a Brexit deal.

“Reports there will be just 1,200 (EU) permits to share between 75,000 British lorries after Brexit is concerning.”

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Anythings better than foodbanks in 2018

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S’not a problem, just add the cost to the transport bill.

ISTR around about 1981/3 my then two axle tractor unit plated to 38 tons to pull a triaxle trailer cost some £3200 annual VED, that was reduced to about £1500 i think when i was issued my first 3 axle unit, but only if i pulled a 3 axle trailer, to pull a 2 axle trailer @ 38 tons would have been much more.
My Mrs car weighing 1500kg costs near enough the same in VED as my bloody artic.

There are other anomalies, its hardly fair to the motorcyclist or car driver when a 44 tonner can use the M6 toll for just £11,50, when the former have to pay £3.50 and £6.40 (rising to £10 with a trailer) respectively.

Of course if we leave the EU, then the cost of many foods will drop more than Labour’s possible tax grab.
You pays your money and takes your choice, what they intend to do about charging foreign lorries a worthwhile VED charge remains (hoho) to be seen.

The roads are knackered, and three axle 44 ton lorries are causing by far the most damage, if you stand by a road and a 44 tonner trundles by even at walking pace you can feel the vibrations yards away.
The country is bankrupt anyway just no one is willing to admit it nationaldebtclock.co.uk/ so get used to having whatever bit of your money is left taken from you one way or another.

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And the Conservatives are planning to charge trucks by the mile.

autocar.co.uk/car-news/indu … es-britain

Do you think Campaign for Better Transport might have ulterior motives for increasing costs on Road Haulage? :bulb:

Campaign for Better Transport acknowledges the following organisations as sponsors of its limited company:, Arriva Passenger Services, ASLEF, Chiltern Railways, Ecology Building Society, EWS, Eurostar, FirstGroup, Freightliner, Gloucestershire County Council, Go-Ahead Group, Hertfordshire County Council, Lush Ltd, National Express, NedRailways, Network Rail, Nottinghamshire County Council, Passenger Transport Executive Group, Rail Freight Group, Railway Industry Association, Railway Forum, Reading Borough Council, RMT, Serco Integrated Transport, Stagecoach, Telford and Wrekin Borough Council, Transport for London, Transdev, TSSA and Unison and Unite-Amicus.

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It is times like this - when you wish such articles were “fake news” - but they ain’t.

Labour seems to think that anyone remotely earning more than minimum wages - needs to be taxed to the hilt, along with the industries that employ staff who dare to value their staff higher than the Delta and Epsilon minions from Huxley’s “Brave New World”.

Trashing your country on the off-chance that a few extra sponger votes might be coming your way - is indeed lunacy. Perhaps even the Moon might be feeling a bit hard done by with such a description, mind… :frowning:

The Tories are not much better "Vote for us. If you vote UKIP - you’ll get Corbyn’s Labour as your next government. "

Eeek! :open_mouth:

Well , I have to admit falling for that old flannel in last year’s election. :blush:

I won’t be falling for it again though. It is time UKIP advanced to at least become Her Majesty’s Opposition at any forthcoming election, now favourite to be in 2019 rather than 2022… :imp:

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If labour get in we’ll probably be staying in the EU which will mean cabotage restrictions being removed in the future which will ■■■■■■■ our haulage industry anyway, so they won’t be getting that much more money out of it.
But saying that, I can’t honestly see us leaving the EU as it is, it seems to me like the remainers are slowly getting their way bit by bit.

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GORDON 50:
If labour get in we’ll probably be staying in the EU which will mean cabotage restrictions being removed in the future which will ■■■■■■■ our haulage industry anyway, so they won’t be getting that much more money out of it.
But saying that, I can’t honestly see us leaving the EU as it is, it seems to me like the remainers are slowly getting their way bit by bit.

its called best of 3 or we keep voting till the remainers win

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The EUrocrats pay our establishment figures a lot of money to carry on being our establishment, rather than some upstart patriots who care more for their country and taxpaying citizens than any staggering drunk hair-ruffling plonker who thinks he’s above the law does.

The only “out” we have as voting citizens - is to vote for a non-mainstream party like UKIP whilst we can still legally do so.

If Brexit is turned over subsequently, we’ll no doubt be forced to join the Euro so we can end up like Greece with the threat of over a million lay-offs in our public services hung over us, that remember Greece’s Socialist PM Tsipras - readily agreed to as the “Price to stay in the Union”…

I’m gobsmacked that our Remainer contingent - WANT this for our country.

Even if every Remainer were paid a grand to act that way - is it worth it for what follows? :frowning: :confused:

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GORDON 50:
If labour get in we’ll probably be staying in the EU which will mean cabotage restrictions being removed in the future which will ■■■■■■■ our haulage industry anyway, so they won’t be getting that much more money out of it.
But saying that, I can’t honestly see us leaving the EU as it is, it seems to me like the remainers are slowly getting their way bit by bit.

Labour are also divided over EU membership, with Jeremy Corbyn always having been more anti-EU than Teresa May and many of the Conservative party.

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Are there going to be any truckers who’ll still be voting Labour?

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The Labour Party and road transport have never been happy bedfellows for the 68 years I have been around (and Nationalisation even before then) so nothing is likely to improve on that score.

Pete.

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In the interests of remaining competitive, I doubt haulage companies will pass this cost on to customers. More likely, they’ll look at the most pliable part of their operation first: drivers’ wages.

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I wouldn’t worry too much, that imbecile Corbyn will never be P.M.

Even the the current P.M is making a bollox of it, Steptoe would be a disaster under the current crisis.

Now would be a perfect time to resurrect the Spitting Image series.

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Does any of it matter?

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Key phrase -
“Research suggests”
which means its far from clear but can be manipulated to mean what they want it to mean

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I think I’ve seen the Campaign for Better Transport working on here before and I’m not going to say they’re holes in their figures, but maybe the results depends on the methods used to calculate the costs.

Just looked at an RAC report for 2012/13,
VED for HGV £248m
Fuel Duty for HGV’s £5,438m (this doesn’t include VAT on the fuel or on any other expenses directly connect with Road Haulage)

Total spending on UK roads in the same period £7,500m

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muckles:
I think I’ve seen the Campaign for Better Transport working on here before and I’m not going to say they’re holes in their figures, but maybe the results depends on the methods used to calculate the costs.

Just looked at an RAC report for 2012/13,
VED for HGV £248m
Fuel Duty for HGV’s £5,438m (this doesn’t include VAT on the fuel or on any other expenses directly connect with Road Haulage)

Total spending on UK roads in the same period £7,500m

https://www.racfoundation.org/assets/rac_foundation/content/downloadables/Transport_finances_Bayliss_October_2014_final.pdf

yeah but - you have forgot about “External Costs”. which are the indirect costs that society has to bear such as.
Climate Change
Noise Pollution
Air Pollution (cost to NHS in treating respiratory illness)
Roads Policing
Accident Investigations / court costs / hospital costs / loss of earnings
Congestion, and its affect on production / gdp (including time wasted by pedestrians waiting to cross the road)
God knows what else but it is a very long list of made up bollux.

Anyway, this lot adds up to something like £60 billion which is in addition to the 8 billion it costs to build and maintain the roads.

Of course they don’t offset these costs by taking away the good that lorries do, like allowing us to live in an advanced society where virtual any product we could wish for will be delivered to your door or to a nearby shop within days. Or whatever job you do would probably not exist without the lorry, you wouldn’t even have a home to live in.

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Bluey Circles:

muckles:
I think I’ve seen the Campaign for Better Transport working on here before and I’m not going to say they’re holes in their figures, but maybe the results depends on the methods used to calculate the costs.

Just looked at an RAC report for 2012/13,
VED for HGV £248m
Fuel Duty for HGV’s £5,438m (this doesn’t include VAT on the fuel or on any other expenses directly connect with Road Haulage)

Total spending on UK roads in the same period £7,500m

https://www.racfoundation.org/assets/rac_foundation/content/downloadables/Transport_finances_Bayliss_October_2014_final.pdf

yeah but - you have forgot about “External Costs”. which are the indirect costs that society has to bear such as.
Climate Change
Noise Pollution
Air Pollution (cost to NHS in treating respiratory illness)
Roads Policing
Accident Investigations / court costs / hospital costs / loss of earnings
Congestion, and its affect on production / gdp (including time wasted by pedestrians waiting to cross the road)
God knows what else but it is a very long list of made up bollux.

Anyway, this lot adds up to something like £60 billion which is in addition to the 8 billion it costs to build and maintain the roads.

Of course they don’t offset these costs by taking away the good that lorries do, like allowing us to live in an advanced society where virtual any product we could wish for will be delivered to your door or to a nearby shop within days. Or whatever job you do would probably not exist without the lorry, you wouldn’t even have a home to live in.

Like I said it’s very much how you do the figures, personally I can’t see how you can quantify some of them, but of course if you’re a pressure group with a large contingent of the Rail industry as your sponsors, it’s probably helpful to your cause to attribute as much expenditure you can to the Road Transport sector and if you are a motorists lobby group then its worth showing how much motorists pay and how little they get in return. :wink:

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Juddian:
There are other anomalies, its hardly fair to the motorcyclist or car driver when a 44 tonner can use the M6 toll for just £11,50, when the former have to pay £3.50 and £6.40 (rising to £10 with a trailer) respectively.

What do the tolls charged on the M6T have to do with taxation? Paying for using it is a simple commercial transaction between you and the owners of said road.

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You know why they’re putting out this project fear about Labour?

To stop drivers voting for a government that might actually increase their wages and reduce their rents.

I should adopt a new joke. What do you call a thousand bankrupt hauliers? A good start! That is, a good start on squeezing out the excessive number of firms all competing down drivers’ wages.