Political

Today’s new Lib Dem policy idea is one I kept on arguing against

Another day, another policy idea. This time it’s for public transport:

All 16-21 year olds in England will get a 66% discount on bus travel under plans unveiled by the Liberal Democrats today.

The proposal, which forms part of the pre-manifesto launched today, would see all 16-21 year olds would be given a Young Person’s Bus Pass. It would help young people with the cost of travel by offering a minimum two thirds discount on bus travel in England. Bus companies would then be able to add their own discounts on top of that.

Liberal Democrats plan to pay for it by abolishing TV licenses and Winter Fuel Payments to pensioners who qualify as higher rate taxpayers.

All very sensible you may well think, so why have I consistently argued against this idea both during Federal Policy Committee meetings on the pre-manifesto and during meetings of the Public Services Working Group? Simple – because I believe in devolution, and in public services meeting the needs of the local area.

It’s always tempting to say, ‘here’s a good idea so let’s make it a mandatory national requirement’. But that’s not what you should do if you believe in devolution.

The test for whether or not something should be a mandatory national requirement should be much higher – and much more rarely passed. And in the case of public transport, does it really make sense for an order to go out from Whitehall micro-managing bus fares across the country and insisting on uniformity, as if the needs on a Sunday morning in Devon are the same as those on a Thursday rush hour evening in Newcastle?

The pre-manifesto document will get debated at the Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow this October. Nick Clegg’s foreword to that document, along with some of its highlights, was published last weekend and you can take a look at my archive of policy posts to see the proposals recently launched that will feature in it.

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