strib: Yanks revolt against London auto fee

[question everything]

Editorial: Yanks revolt against London auto fee

Mayor responds with a bit of "argy bargy."

Bear with us as we try to understand Republicans. In St. Paul, they consider the state cigarette tax a fee, hoping not to be seen as tax raisers; in London, they consider the traffic congestion fee a tax, hoping not to pay it. Why does the word "two-faced" come to mind?

Actually, London's mayor preferred "chiseling little crook" to describe the American ambassador, a buddy of President Bush who, when he took his post last July, stopped paying the congestion surcharge for embassy cars. The city charges about $14 a day for each car entering central London in order to discourage auto gridlock and promote public transit. Ambassador Robert Tuttle contends the fees are taxes that diplomats shouldn't have to pay, citing immunities granted by the Vienna Convention. Mayor Ken Livingstone says the fees are more like tolls, and that British diplomats routinely pay tolls on American roads and bridges.

Livingstone has a point; the fees have made the city more livable, and the Yanks should pay their share. Including fines, the embassy owes more than a quarter-million dollars. Livingstone, in turn, owes a more civil tone, although a tart tongue has long been his trademark, and his comments are amusing, especially about the ambassador's ironic background as a big California auto dealer. Although Germany and several other countries also decline to pay the congestion fee, the mayor takes special delight at poking the Americans. The colonists, it seems, have never liked British taxes, whether on tea in Boston or driving in London.

http://www.startribune.com/561/story/358589.html

[Canuckistanian]

1. Not are they only liars and cheats

They're CHEAP liars and cheats.

The phrase "when in Rome" doesn't apply to Republicans. They make their own reality.

[Kellanved]

2. actually the US does have a point

Diplomatic staff is normally extempt from charges for traffic. That does even include speeding and parking tickets.

Also, lest not forget: the British diplomatic staff is a constant source for joy in the Berlin traffic. They sealed off a main road in the Berlin city center to protect the British embassy; demanding a frigging "service charge" is just petty.

[Kutjara]

3. Ken Livingston is a colorful character with an even more colorful history

In the 1980s, when he was leader of the GLC (the Greater London Council), his often outrageously extremist pronouncements earned him the label "Red Ken." He was a major thorn in the side of Margaret Thatcher, publicly baiting her for her rabid conservatism. There is a persistent rumor that, when he was approving a new building project for the Council, he intentionally picked the ugliest proposal, because he knew Maggie would be able to see it from her office in the Houses of Parliament. In the end, Ken so enraged Thatcher, that the GLC was disbanded. As a result, London had no single governmental body (which led to problems of its own, as can be imagined).

In the 1990s, when the Labour Party was transforming itself from a Far Left into a Center Left (and, these days, a decidedly Center Right) party, Ken was in the political wilderness, contenting himself with periodically baiting his former comrades for "selling out."

When it was finally decided that London actually needed an overall Mayor and city council, Ken emerged as a reinvented "man of the people." His rebel appeal was sufficient to carry him to an overwhelming victory; a feat he repeated a couple of years ago when he was elected again.

Aside from his unconventional approach to politics and often ill-considered outspokenness (he was recently censured for comparing a pushy journalist to a concentration camp guard - the journalist was Jewish), perhaps Ken's most well known trait is his hobby of breeding newts. He just loves them, you see.