London mayor Ken Livingstone announced yesterday that the ｣8—a—day congestion charge will be raised to ｣25 for SUVs. In other words, if you own an SUV you will have to pay almost 50 dollars for the privilege of driving through central London.

Livingstone said that the charge will be

'a painful regime that discourages people from driving cars that produce more than the average carbon emissions.'

Staggering is not only the amount, but also the rationale behind the scheme. The original stated intention of the congestion charge was to reduce the number of vehicles in central London, but now it is to be used for a different purpose entirely: To pursue devious environmental agendas of ultra—leftist politicians.

Ken Livingstone — aka Ken the Red — is a leftist in the finest European tradition who has called SUV owners 'idiots.' He said that he was making his announcement early to discourage people from thinking about acquiring one:

'Many families in London may be considering purchasing a new car over the next two or three months. I would want them to know the long—term thinking as they can factor that in.'

Livingstone is already promising that if the scheme proves 'successful,' he will introduce a citywide charge for SUVs in the next few years. All this from a man who in November of 1999 told the Sunday Times:

"I hate cars. If I ever get any powers again I'd ban the lot."

It bears keeping in mind that it all started as a ｣5 charge for a relatively small area. A couple of years later the boundaries of the chargeable zone are going to be dramatically expanded and the charge will be five times the original amount for certain vehicles. And they are plotting further schemes in the years ahead. You give leftists an opening and they will never stop. Never believe when they tell you in the beginning that it is only a small levy that will only apply to a small number of people. This is how they always start and before we know it they fleece us numb.

The Greens throughout the London government are naturally delighted. Jenny Jones, a Green assemblywoman, said:

'I am absolutely thrilled. It is only fair that people who choose to drive big, gas—guzzling cars pay more and people who drive a low polluting vehicles should pay less.'

Darren Johnson, leader of the Greens on the London Assembly added:

'I have been pushing for this change since the congestion charge came into force. It is good to see Ken making the polluter pay.'

It is painful to think that the whole racket is based on the spurious and unproven premise that human activity affects global temperature. But this is the essence of the leftist modus operandi — using bogus claims to deprive people of their money, freedom and choices. And we just keep falling for it (and paying too).

[The quotes are taken from an article in the print edition of the Evening Standard which has not appeared online.]

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