Dear Member,

Nope. Sorry. If you were looking for a bit of an escape from the General Election you’ve opened the wrong email. Over the next few weeks we’ll be looking at the main parties’ transport policies in their manifestos just as soon as the ink dries.

I wonder how many of us will actually change the way we vote though because of professional reasons?
If a party states it will insist overseas based trucks arrive here with nearly empty tanks and then have to buy fuel at the same cost as we do, would you switch the way you vote?

In the same way if a party declares it will pour money into passenger transport in a bid to clear our lungs and unclog our roads would you put an X by their candidate?

Or do you really vote for more personal reasons? Because perhaps you’ve always voted one way, or the general economic policy is more important, or you love or hate Europe.

Must admit I’m a bit tribal. I’ve voted the same way in every General Election – and I haven’t yet seen any reason to change. Mind you the party I support tends to make the noises about transport that I want to hear. And probably your usual party does too.

Like a typical politician, I’ve just lied to you actually. Or at least I’ve been economical with the truth. I did select a different party the first time I ever voted - for short term tactical reasons. There was this red headed vegan girl who lived in Clapham, and I voted Green in order to woo her…

I’ve not voted Green since because a) even though, I hasten to add in case you’re a Green Party voter, they have some laudable aims, as I say I’m pretty tribal in the way I vote and b) the vegan went off with an accountant who took her to a posh summer ball. So much for political values, eh?

Let’s assume that you are cleverer than me though, and actually do change the way you vote based on intellectual reasons, rather than venal. There’s something I don’t quite understand at the moment. If you run a union surely on the whole you would probably still prefer a Labour Government, if only out of habit. Beer and sandwiches at No.10 and all that...............more

David Jinks  Editor
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