Melee Media

Is motoring the new smoking?

'I very much doubt anyone will get this far, so I'll invest a few moments just to purge myself from the whole sorry state of debate, the media and government these days, having at last watched the spectacle of last night's show.

At least we didn't have the usual 'twofer', with two totally antagonistic pit bulls from extreme ends of the spectrum thrown in to simplistically represent both sides of the argument. This time we had a good half dozen. The smug government pol who has realised he can say or deny anything he likes (did he or did he not say what the Sun guy says he is on record as saying? I'm afraid the interviewer wasn't up to establishing that. Or the 2 or 3 ways you can track someone, and charge them for moving, from A to B without needing to know where they are. That just didn't make sense). The laddish 'media of the people person' who doesn't seem to care about the environment, but did at least try to drag the debate out of London... a bit. The posh lady who actually didn't do too bad a job of explaining why it pretty much sucks using public transport in every way possible, from cost to the state of the things. There was indeed no Tory, but after their rep's performance on Sky's news t'other night I can see why. Then a Lib Dem that was for but against. A shrill activist who has moved to live in London and now does not need a car, and cycles everywhere, doubtless with her kids in the pannier even when it's mid-winter. And some guy from the CBI who seemed to see money in the whole thing so that's OK. And all they did was bicker over each other. Melee media.

The only guy who seem quite calm and reasoned was the petition organiser.

What a zoo. What a farce. The only entity to gain was Newsnight's ratings, because almost none came out well, I certainly didn't learn anything much I didn't know, and I don't see this issue getting sorted or the planet getting better any time soon.

Oh, and if I hear one more politician tell me I don't know my own mind in the same breath as saying they want to persuade me on anything, I shall laugh myself silly.

The reservoir of trust is blown. Nothing that's said is believed. And if the notion the only solution is to push in such cases, all that happens is there is a greater push back.'

Telegraph - Pay as you drive is a dead end for Labour - Well done guys. You killed it better from within than any enemy could have done.

Telegraph - How road pricing could be used to hammer the 'gas guzzlers' - If you shout loud enough about listening, may people will shut up and do what you want

Daily Mirror - TOLL TAX: HAMMOND GRILLS THE PM - actually a few interesting snippets