Darling's Idea Could Save Us All from Traffic Meltdown

Byline: PETER OBORNE

TRANSPORT Secretary Alistair Darling is, beyond doubt, the dullest minister in the Blair government, and that is saying a lot. I've been writing about Darling for more than eight years and, believe me, I know.

If you sit down and talk with him (I've done it once or twice) you find your eyes closing against your will. Listening to his speeches is like watching paint dry or the grass grow.

And yet, after eight years of this stultifying boredom, Darling has suddenly come up with the most amazing idea. It will change the way we live our lives more fundamentally than anything else which New Labour has thought of.

Darling wants to abolish fuel tax and use new satellite technology to tax car use in a very specific way. Journeys along empty roads would cost relatively little while travelling at peak time would cost a small fortune.

This is brilliant. It will lead to the most fundamental shake-up in road use since Lloyd George announced …

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Publication information: Article title: Darling's Idea Could Save Us All from Traffic Meltdown. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: The Evening Standard (London, England). Publication date: June 6, 2005. Page number: 15. © Not available. COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group.

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