Test Valley Tory councillors have rejected calls for increased spending on public transport. At this week’s borough council meeting councilors debated petrol prices. Lib Dem councillors proposed the following amendment to a Tory motion –

 “Test Valley Borough Council will communicate its concerns (on fuel prices)to the government and request it take appropriate action to control fluctuations in fuel prices whilst encouraging investment in alternative environmentally friendly fuels and investing in adequate public transport for those areas currently over dependant on private cars for transport.”

In proposing this I reminded councillors of their need, as signatories to the Nottingham Declaration on Climate Change to promote more environmentally friendly policies and reduce local dependence on private cars. However they rejected the motion preferring to send a demand to the Labour government that it introduce a “fuel stabiliser” to subsidise petrol prices from tax revenues. This move would reward the owners of gas guzzlers while ignoring the needs of the 20% of local people with no access to private transport.