Irony of the lib dem candidate caught speeding by camera he secured funding

A Lib Dem parliamentary candidate was caught speeding by a camera he admits he "secured the funding for".

Stephen Gilbert's solicitor pleaded guilty on his behalf to speeding in his Kia car at 40mph in a 30mph zone on the A390 at St Blazey, last August.

Mr Gilbert, 38, of Beach Road, Newquay, was fined £430, ordered to pay costs of £85 and given three penalty points.

A charge of failing to give information relating to the driver's identity was withdrawn at Bodmin Magistrates' Court.

Mr Gilbert is defending the St Austell and Newquay seat in Cornwall.

The politician tweeted that the speeding conviction was "ironic" as he had "secured the funding for the camera 15 years ago".

.@tamsinmelville ... and isn't it ironic since I secured the funding for the camera 15 years ago! @BBCCornwall

— Stephen Gilbert (@stephen_gilbert) April 22, 2015

Election: Lib dems would raise on average by £25 a year

If the Liberal Democrats gain power Car tax will increase on average by £25 a year by 2017/18, with drivers of gas guzzlers facing even higher bills!

Figures released by the party in a pre-manifesto briefing show an extra £485 million will be raised by the rebanding in 2016/17 and £850
million in 2017/18.

At a central London press conference, Mr Clegg rejected the assertion that the tax hike amounted to a new "war on motorists", insisting the measure was to maintain the "status quo" on the revenue raised.

He said: "It's a revenue retention measure - we simply want to maintain the same amount of money from the overall vehicle duty system as we set out in 2010.

"This is just to make sure as the system shifts around because people are buying lower emission vehicles, we still generate the same revenue."

Under current VED rates, petrol and diesel cars which emit less than 100g of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kilometre pay no tax, while the dirtiest vehicles with emissions of more than 255g per kilometre pay £505.

An aide to the Lib Dem leader said: "In 2010 we put out a projection of how much we thought we would get from VED.

"The take-up of fuel-efficient cars has been faster than the Government expected, which means that the overall revenue has fallen, so that is restoring it.

"What we have said we will do, this is exactly as has been done before, is we will work with the automotive industry to work out the next setting and banding, continuing to incentivise lower carbon-emitting cars."

The source said: "Higher emitting cars will pay a little bit more to make sure we get the revenue we want."

The exact impact on individual models will be the subject of a consultation with the motor industry.

But the source said: "There are around 32 million cars on UK roads. Under the revenue raised by 2017/18 that will be an average of an increase by £25 a year.

"But of course that would depend on your carbon emissions."

Source : home.bt.com

You might think that 30mph was chosen using scientific evidence but you would be wrong....

Back in 1934, just prior to the introduction of the 30mph speed limit, there were only around one-tenth of the cars on the road today, but four times as many associated deaths.

There had previously been a blanket 20mph speed limit, set in the 1903 Motor Car Act, but it was repealed for light vehicles in 1930. The spate of deaths caused a change of heart in government in 1934 and 1935, with 30mph brought in for built-up areas.

You might think that 30mph was chosen using scientific evidence but you would be wrong....

"It was pulled out of a hat," says Rod King, founder of the 20's Plenty for Us campaign, which believes that the 30mph limit today is no longer appropriate, credible or acceptable.

"The 30mph limit is compromised beyond belief," says King. Cities including London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Bath, Cambridge, Liverpool, Oxford, Brighton, Newcastle and Edinburgh, have introduced 20mph limits on some roads in their jurisdiction. The Lib Dems have even considered 10mph limits in some areas.

While motoring organisations the RAC and the AA have expressed support for 20mph limits outside schools, they oppose a blanket change from 30 to 20.

Today there are three typical speed limits across the UK:

• a 30mph limit on roads with street lighting (which is taken to indicate a built-up area)
• a 60mph national speed limit on single carriageways
• and a 70mph top speed on dual carriageways and motorways

The limits are meant to keep everybody safe. The Department for Transport (DfT) says that for every 1mph the average speed of vehicles reduces on roads, there are 6% fewer accidents.
Speed limits should be "evidence-led and self-explaining", the DfT explains, and "should be seen by drivers as the maximum speed rather than as a target speed at which to drive irrespective of conditions". Road safety in the UK is relatively good, with one death on the roads for every 20,000 cars.