General Chat

Chavez cancels Livingstone's oil barter deal signing ceremony According to the BBC, it seems that a substantial number of people in Venezuela object to to the dubious scheme concocted by their autocratic President Hugo Chavez and Mayor of London Ken Livingstone, which, incredibly, is meant to subsidise Transport for London buses, at the expense of the poor people of Venezuela, through a dodgy crude oil barter deal. Any effect on bus fares in London will be virtually zero, since the UK Treasury will still levy fuel duty and VAT, per litre of fuel, irrespective of the 'cheaper' (but non-zero) price of the fuel out of the oil refinery gates via this supposed barter deal. The effect on the people of Venezuela will be proportionately much more, due to the lost oil revenue which they could have benefited from at market rates. International oil barter deals are notoriously corrupt, e.g. the United Nations administered 'oil for medicines' deals in the period between the liberation of Kuwait and the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. How many dodgy middlemen does Livingstone's oil barter deal involve ? The signing ceremony in Caracas for the deal has been cancelled at the last minute, denying Ken Livingstone a media opportunity to pretend that he is some sort of world statesman. Surely the London taxpayer should not be having to pick up the bill for Ken Livingstone's trip to see his communist friends in Cuba, where he seems to have decided to stop off en route. ?

Eveybody knew what that Prat was like when he ran the GLC.But he was voted in as The Mayor of London,so they,ve got what they deserve. A complete Nutter who hates Cars and the people who drive them, ( even though they pay his wages and very large expense account) Hal.

exhaustive.. was that a pun....!! :-)))

The vehicles which will be hit (acording to the Telegraph) INCLUDE: Audi A4 Audi TT Coupe 1.8 BMW 525i saloon BMW Z4M Roadster Fiat Croma 2.2 16v Ford Mondeo 2.0i saloon Ford Galaxy 2.3i Land Rover 1.8 Freelander Range Rover 4.4 Mazda 6 2.3 (four door) Peugeot 407 2.2 Renault Espace 2.0 16V Seat Alhambra 2.0 (115PS) The list is probably not exhaustive.

He also said 'In 2008, the charge will be removed for cars in Bands A and B which produce the lowest emissions.' Years ago I us to work and drive around the West End, last month was the first time in many years I had been back and was surprised how light the traffic was. Keith

vans? will kill our business, a small business. We cannot afford charges like that - and no , its no good asjking the customer , it doesnt work like that

It shouldn't affect a Mondeo.... it's only relevant to cars that fall into Road Tax band G Applies only to cars registered after 1 March 2001 that produce 225 g/km and have highest tax cost = £210 Jaguar X type 2.0 petrol saloon auto (239 g/km) Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe 3.6 litre petrol (269 g/km) Renault Espace 2 litre petrol (229 g/km) BMW X5 4.8 litre petrol (324 g/km) Range Rover 4.4 V8 petrol auto (389 g/km) XX Sioux

Hi Bryan, I'm also from Essex (and am a threadkiller!) and like to go into London sometimes. What is the purpose of the latest hike in price then? Is it to reduce congestion or discourage gas-guzzling cars? I would have thought it a bit extreme to penalise a 2ltr Mondeo which I think most people would consider to be a standard family car. Also, combined with the huge increase in one-off (non oyster card) bus and tube fairs, it seems that however you choose to travel it will be an expensive business to travel into London and that's before you've even paid for attraction tickets e.g. theatre, Tower of London etc. I'm not pleased! Regards, Cherie

Feel if money is used to improve public transport the suggested charge is not an abuse of power. I drive a car that would be affected - my choice. Bit like carbon taxes for airplane journeys - yes it adds to the cost but again I have the choice to fly or not. T.O.R. ;~)

Ken is proposing upping the Congestion Charge from £8 to £25 for vehicles in the highest CO2 emissions bracket from 2009. It will NOT just affect 4 x 4's (pandering to tabloid hysteria) but many saloon cars e.g. a 2 litre Mondeo. Should the Congestion Charge stay as just that, or is Ken abusing his powers by trying to force certain vehicle off the road?

Is Ken Livingstone overstepping the mark?