A Fuel Discount For Rural Communities

 Normally I'm a phlegmatic sort of individual. However, today has seen the announcement of the sort of government policy that really gets me going. The Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, has announced that the UK government is applying to the EU for a 5p reduction in fuel duty for specified rural areas of the UK, on a par with the reductions that exist for some other exceptionally rural communities.

Is this part of a drive to tackle the 'cost of living' problem that threatens to be a major election issue? Or is it simply an attempt to give Economics teachers, and students, up and down the country a chance to roll their eyes and think - with apologies to John McEnroe - "you cannot be serious!"

It is almost as if the Coalition government want to give future examiners the opportunity to set Data Response questions on one of the most ill-thought out policy initiatives of the last few years. However, the BBC covered this story earlier today:

Fuel Discount Bid For Rural Communities

My own take on this was one of bemusement.

• How have the government decided on these towns?
• Why not other towns?
• What else is the government going to subsidise because it feels like it?
• Don't people who live in remote areas expect to have to (a) pay more for most things because of higher transport costs (b) accept that they'll need to drive rather more than people in urban areas?
• Isn't that one of the reasons why they choose to live there?

I wonder if anyone out there can think of other examples of recent government policy that are as badly thought out.

Background:

Daily Mail: Read here

Shameless pork barrel Politics - Financial Times - Read here