Very bad news if so. It had seemed like some of the CCS/Hydrogen funding could be at risk of cuts too and I had been hoping that would mean things like the BUS would be spared.

Got mine this week and invariably couldn't help wondering about this.

Always pretty striking to see. Oddly it looks like CA is not doing too bad relative to others, which isn't something I'd usually say about CA when it comes to "speed at getting infrastructure stuff done".

Well I really hope it doesn't happen - these have existed in California for ages and do not have a good track record. Very much on board with DESNZ apparently pushing for levies being moved into general taxation though - surely a better move for both reducing prices and promoting electrification.

Good thread and highlights the myopic way governments have made incremental changes to taxes/benefits. Means testing everything risks creating a stingy state that those who disproportionately fund it have less of a stake in. Universal benefits + sufficiently progressive taxation seems preferable.

Enjoyed this - thanks for sharing.

I had a go at doing some of these once and remember them being tricky. I think they are sometimes used as a screening process to prevent AI from completing an application. Pretty soon I felt like I had failed to meet the “good enough for a human” threshold and might be screened out as a bot 😬

£1.75/litre petrol and £2/litre diesel are no doubt motivating factors behind recent uptake too. Cutting various levies/taxes off electricity prices in the coming budget would be nice to see.

Agreed. Labour should steal it for the budget. Get rid of the personal allowance and child benefit tapers too. Could even make it revenue neutral by altering other tax rates/thresholds for high earners. Some state support (eg for having kids) should be universal rather than means testing everything.

Glad to see electoral reform finally looking like it might happen. No idea what the final model will be. But wherever things end up, I do hope this doesn't get lost in a morass of voting system acronyms and at the end there is at least a move toward "something meaningfully better than FPTP".

If cuts do happen I really hope it is CCS and Hydrogen that take the brunt of this, not the Warm Homes Plan.

Similar experience yesterday. The guy did at least turn it down/off when I asked. Still just do not understand why people do this though

Oh for sure I’m with you. Definitely feels like roadworks have gotten worse. And more cycling and walking is a contributor, although that isn’t really a bad thing. But for the vehicles that are on the road, I think they should all pay their fair share, be they commercial, ride-hailing, or private

The mayor did moot an expansion of the congestion charge zone back in 2020, although not clear how serious this was. But would be great to see something like this @centreforlondon.bsky.social proposal for a more comprehensive system of road pricing in London

The solution that people dare not mention: congestion pricing. The ULEZ and camera infrastructure is there. There’s already a congestion charge in the very centre. Time to widen the footprint and modify the rates so you pay more near the centre and for peak vs off-peak. It can be done!

Thanks for the kind words James. I do indeed hope people read some of the detail as there's clearly a lot in there beyond the headline messages.

More of this crap huh? The UK appreciates you keeping us company in the moronic immigration policy club