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I'm real confused how an elected government in 2017 can deign to make policy promises on behalf of one in 2040.

• timthorn 9y ago
  A UK parliament can't bind future parliaments. However, long term policies can be set - it's then up to governments in future to change the policy if they see fit. I can certainly see the deadline slipping if pragmatic concerns dictate, but I doubt the policy will change in substance.
  • Gustomaximus 9y ago
    And to add, this is clearly needed as otherwise a government could only undertake projects to the length of their term which would be limiting.
  • Gustomaximus 9y ago
    And to add, this is clearly needed as otherwise a government could only undertake projects to the length of their term which would be limiting.
  • andygates 9y ago
    The "bad example" in this case would be the Fuel Duty Escalator, a policy to ratchet up fuel tax year-by-year in order to fund sustainable transport and simultaneously make inefficient vehicles unattractive. The government bottled just as it was starting to bite. Arguably, it was ahead of its time - as opposed to this announcement, which is almost tardy - but it's a sad truth that one of the "pragmatic concerns" is whether or not it'll annoy the sitting party's voting base.