A CASE OF MAYBE? OR WHEN?

While I welcome the news that credit and debit cards may finally be used to pay the tolls on the Severn Bridges, I hope that the National Assembly will stay on the ball to ensure that there is a rapid change in the necessary law at Westminster.

What bothers me is that there is a risk that this may become a case of 'may’ rather than ‘when’ because UK legislation, which governs the crossings, needs to be amended to allow the use of credit / debit cards. As yet the Highways Agency has said that confirmation of any amendment is still awaited.

Now obviously with a forthcoming Westminster General election, the legislative programme will be severely curtailed, so how quickly will the change be made?

The Conservatives, who were in power in 1992, when the original Act governing the operations of what would become the Severn Bridges, was passed will obviously have their own agenda to pursue, slashing and burning their way through the public sector and military budget, no doubt. And what with them believing in tolls and private ownership of assets, this will probably not be a priority in their legislative programme, especially if any proposed change ends up not being passed before the Westminster General election.

I have oft wondered, why was the legislation so badly drafted in the first place to include the infamous annual clause that allows the operating company to raise the tolls every year? It is important to place things in context, 1992 was right in the middle of the privatisation era, when if it could be flogged off for a song, which helped make their dodgy mates in the City more than a few pounds, then it would be.

Did someone get a bung, a few quid in a brown envelope, a seat on the board or a nice holiday in the sun - these things went on at the time, although in 1992 the reality of Conservative sleaze, which could in its day give New Labour sleaze and the scandal of MP's expenses a real challenge for wild newspaper headlines, was yet to be revealed.

That aside, lets be honest, as the Severn Bridges are such vital transport links to the economy of South Wales, the real question should be how long can we afford to have our interests looked after by an increasingly distant and increasingly indifferent Whitehall.