Ministers accused of hypocrisy as nearly 800 trips are made using the government’s car service in the last six month
Welsh Government ministers have been accused of hypocrisy after racking up nearly 800 trips using the government’s official car service in the last six month.
A Freedom of Information request from the Welsh Conservatives has revealed that 799 trips were taken by Labour frontbenchers covering nearly 50,000 miles between October last year and April this year.
The Labour Government’s fleet of vehicles are made up of five diesel cars, five petrol hybrid and three electric vehicles.
According to the Ministerial Code, Labour ministers can use the government’s official cars for any purpose – including being picked up from their home and taken to their office as long as they are “carrying ministerial papers.”
Beyond belief
Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Transport, Natasha Asghar MS, said: “It is beyond belief that Labour ministers are preaching to the public to ditch private cars and take up public transport, while at the same time living the life of luxury being ferried around in chauffeur-driven gas-guzzling cars.
“They should be leading by example, especially as they are constantly banging the drum about people joining the green revolution.
“There is no doubt that the number of car trips is going to go through the roof in the coming months now that Labour’s health minister has been banned from driving.
“And to make matters worse, just three of the Labour Government’s ministerial vehicles are electric with the rest of them being diesel or petrol hybrid.
“This revelation just reeks of hypocrisy and seriously undermines Labour’s green credentials. It is just another example of Labour making all the right noises but failing to do anything meaningful about it.”
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Its always good to scrutinise such things… and I think leading by example is the way of the truly wise and intellectually seasoned.
What are the numbers for the Welsh Conservatives? What methods f transport do they use now?..and of course I, and I think a lot of other people too, will be interested to hear what their solution is and how they feel it could be funded, after all, “Green Issues” i.e. things that pertain to the biosphere, are all people concerns and politics should not get in the way of solutions being presented and enacted.
The Government Car Service in Westminster has 90 cars and a couple of hundred full time drivers for the use of ministers.
They also have dozens of ministers that like to be ferried around
The politics of spite envy and desperation. 31 Labour MS. 50,000 miles. 6 months approx 30 days per month.
So 50,000/(31 x 6 x 30) = 9 miles per MS per day.
AN AVERAGE OF 9 MILES PER DAY (OR 12 IF THEY DON’T WORK WEEKENDS)
So let’s do it per vehicle and include only Mon/Fri
50,000/(12 x 6 x 20) = 35 miles per working day per Senedd fleet vehicle.
35 miles per day per vehicle for a national government.
It’s almost seem like the irrelevant party are just looking for things to be publically shocked about.
35 miles per day per vehicle leads me to wonder if they have too many vehicles. Taking into account all running costs, the £ per mile must be rather large. Surely there is a more economical way of transporting cosseted AMs around?
Do you remember David Cameron cycling the few hundred yards from Downing Street followed by a Jag with chauffeur and two armed protection group?
They don’t give a toss about cossetting the minister, it is the national security involved in they little red boxes that counts.
That is an average. Likely there were fewer but longer journeys. Other governments not too far East of Caerdydd sometimes use RAF jets to go on holidays on private islands, so the odd Senedd member travelling to North Wales booking out a pool car because the public transport and road system in Cymru following hundreds of years of WM rule is abominable, seems a very modest way of getting about.
Still, if you have any practical (rather than comedic) ideas for alternatives I suspect Y Senedd would hear you out
Much as I hate the Conservatives I’m glad someone asked the awkward question.
Now we need ask about their vehicle use too – obviously smaller overall as there are so few of them, but let’s ask anyway.
I expect the Tories claim a fair few bob in mileage expenses for their travel. I wonder what the mileage rate is for Govt. travel.
Do as WE say, NOT do as WE do, concerning using public transport etc.
Do they say that though?
They’re investing a fortune in Transport for Wales, but it would take them an age to attend an event in North Wales if they have to travel from Cardiff by bus or train.