Summary
It's widely believed that the Conservaives won the Uxbridge by-election because of motorists who were annoyed by the London mayor's ultra low emission zone. With a general election looming, both main english parties want to harness "driver power". But how did the vote of car and van owners become so important? Does the independence driving brings lead to a libertarian attitude? Or is that combative attitude caused by drivers feeling that they have been used as cash-cows by successive governments, which have gladly taken their road tax and fuel duty. But that power balance is also set to change, with the eventual electrification of all UK vehicles. Could road pricing replace fuel duty - and how will motorists respond?
Presenter: Chris Bowlby Producer: Jim Frank Editor: Clare Fordham
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Just before this BBC podcast gets underway, here's something you may not know. |
| 0:04.6 | My name's Linda Davies and I Commission Podcasts for BBC Sounds. |
| 0:08.4 | As you'd expect, at the BBC we make podcasts of the very highest quality featuring the most knowledgeable |
| 0:14.3 | experts and genuinely engaging voices. What you may not know is that the BBC |
| 0:20.4 | makes podcasts about all kinds of things like pop stars, |
| 0:24.6 | poltergeist, cricket, and conspiracy theories and that's just a few examples. |
| 0:29.7 | If you'd like to discover something a little bit unexpected, find your next podcast over at BBC Sounds. |
| 0:36.0 | BBC Sounds. |
| 0:38.0 | BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts. |
| 0:41.0 | Thank you for downloading this edition of Analysis, the podcast that looks at the issues behind the news. |
| 0:46.8 | I'm Chris Bulby and in this edition we're looking at the political power of the motorist and |
| 0:51.5 | how that might change. |
| 0:54.0 | This is the plane roundabout near the centre of Oxford. |
| 0:57.0 | It's a constantly busy meeting place for the city's traffic |
| 1:00.0 | in a couple of directions of the city's universities. |
| 1:03.0 | Up that way is the Cowley Road with its shops, businesses, |
| 1:06.0 | and at one end a famous car factory. |
| 1:09.0 | I lived here for 25 years and was constantly passing through this place |
| 1:12.0 | as a pedestrian, a cyclist and a motorist. |
| 1:16.1 | It could work well, sometimes though it was a place of tension and aggression as all those |
| 1:20.2 | different users competed for space. |
| 1:23.2 | And recently this place has been one of the focal points of a really acrimonious |
... |
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