Greens cite concerns over transport plans in Rachel Reeves’ budget
Kingston Green Party and other environmentalists have expressed their disappointment at the government’s autumn budget, which they say will result in fewer people using public transport, and cause more pollution and congestion.
In Labour’s first budget in 14 years, it was revealed that the bus fare single ticket cap would rise by 50%, from £2 to £3, whilst fuel duty would remain frozen.
In response to the increased bus fare cap, Des Kay, founder of local charity Save the World Club, said: “Of course it’s a minor increase for most people. But what about people who take the bus to work on a subsistence wage? A pound is a lot of money for them. It’s obviously not encouraging people to take public transport.”
Dr Debojyoti Das, the former Green Party candidate for Kingston and Surbiton, said that the bus fare increase is an issue of social justice.
Dr Das said that people living outside of London will be disproportionately affected by this, pointing out that they already face higher levels of deprivation and a lack of efficient public transport.
“A fair deal has not been given to people who are at the bottom of the margins,” he said.
Tariq Shabbeer, the secretary of Save the World Club, said that there should have been a focus on improving public transport services in the country, renewable energy and investment in local green businesses.
Reeves defended the decision to raise taxes by blaming the Conservatives for leaving a £22bn hole in public finances. The announcement that fuel duty would remain static has caused frustration.
A spokesperson for the Kingston and Surbiton Green Party said: “£82 billion pounds has been kept out of the budget in the last 10-14 years because fuel duty has not gone up. Why? It’s money that could go on schools, on the NHS or on impacting normal people’s lives. Why haven’t they done it?”
As well as the obvious environmental implications of the budget, greens have also reacted to the selective tax rises.
Dr Das said that a lot of social welfare issues have been completely neglected by the budget, highlighting that the Green Party takes a holistic approach in their politics.
“I think there is a bigger problem that we are trying to address. It’s not just about questions of environmental problems, but also looking at problems of social justice and the historic marginalisation of communities,” he said.
The Surbiton and Kingston Green Party said that this budget should have taken bolder action, especially considering it was the first from the new Labour government. Their spokesperson added:
“You cannot have environmental justice without social justice. The two are interlinked. You need to be helping both. And this has unfortunately done neither.”
Shabbeer said: “The autumn 2024 budget was a missed opportunity with nothing significant to conserve nature, the climate, or people.”
