September 2003

 
Stroud Councillors threw out a proposal(1) to reduce their mileage allowances so that more polluting vehicles no longer received a higher allowance.

The motion, proposed by Green councillors Toby Green and John Marjoram at the council meeting of September 4th, pointed out that August had seen the hottest weather on record in the UK, and that worldwide global climatic instability was increasing all the time. It was proposed that mileage allowances, which at present are calculated according to the number of cc in a councillor's engine, be equalised at the current basic minimum.

However the motion was resoundingly defeated by members of the Conservative administration, who argued that modern engines, even if larger, were often "cleaner" than smaller vehicles. Some members of the administration argued that there was no evidence that global warming was influenced by human behaviour.

"This was one of the most dismal debates I have ever heard," said Councillor Green, who proposed the motion. "You would have thought that the evidence in favour of global warming being related to carbon emissions was overwhelming, but no. Instead, in spite of platitudes from the Administration about enhancing the environment, its members are not prepared to take a lead on this important issue."

"Those councillors who argued that their larger engines were "cleaner" failed to take account of the amount of energy which has to go into quarrying, smelting and welding the metals which go into making the larger cars which are home to those engines. Furthermore, if this is what they really believe, what right do they have to continue to draw larger allowances than those with smaller engines, as they claim that their cars use no more petrol?"

"This is one of the most serious issues facing the world today," said Cllr Marjoram, who seconded the motion. "It's vital that we tackle it, and even more vital that councillors take a lead on the matter. The failure of the council to pass the motion is an indictment both of most councillors' self-interestedness, and of the depressing distance that still has to be covered until our society takes this matter seriously."

The only glimmer of hope was that, at the same meeting, Cllr Dorcas Binns, cabinet member for the enviornment and rural affairs, told members that the council was looking at developing a policy on global warming over the next few months.

"It's vital that this policy is more successful than last night's display," said Cllr Green. "But after the argument we heard on mileage allowances, it will be harder to convince me that it won't just be an exercise in greenwashing."

Notes
(1) Proposal: "This council notes:
1 - That this council has no policy on global warming;
2 - That, at present, councillors' travel allowances are determined according to the size of their engines, with larger engines receiving greater allowances;
3 - That larger engines require more petrol, and that the burning of fossil fuels is widely seen as a principal cause of global warming;
4 - That August has seen the hottest weather on rcord in the United Kingdom, and that 8 of the hottest ten summers on record have occured in the past 10 years. Furthermore, that wordlwide global climatic instability has increased dramatically in recent years, with, for instance, a sharp increase in the ocurrence of El Nino weather patterns; a third less rainfall that usual in tropical West Africa last year; a dusastrous drought in south central Africa over the past year;
5 - That Councillors' basic allowances have recently been raise dby 200%, and that the Remuneration Panel noted that some of the increase should take account of councillors' expenses.

This council therefore proposes:
That, believing that the Council needs to take a lead on this important issue, Councillors should not be encouraged to take polluting forms of transport, and that therefore Councillors' travel allowances should be equalised, so that all car drivers should receive only the current basic minimum of 34.6p per mile"