Lease a Prius and Sell the Roller

9.08.00am GMT Fri 29th Jan 2010

The Toyota Prius has CO2 emissions of 89g/km and is in the £0 tax band

Lib Dem councillors have called for the borough council to sell the Mayor's Rolls Royce and lease a Toyota Prius instead.

Cutting back on the Mayoral expenses was on the agenda of a Strategy & Resources meeting on Tuesday 26th February and despite calls by the Lib Dems to scrap the idea of a Rolls Royce some years ago, the costs are now considered to be so prohibitive, even the ruling Residents' Party is considering making a change.

Lib Dem councillors were in no doubt what they wanted : leasing an hybrid Toyota Prius is less than £300 pcm, one of the "greenest" vehicles and attracts nil road fund licence. Going for the leasing options would also mean the Mayor's vehicle could be kept up to date and depreciation would not be a factor. Cllr Colin Taylor felt it would show that the borough is serious about taking up its 10:10 responsibilities, a campaign they signed up to which demands reducing the borough's carbon footprint by 10% over a designated 12 month period.

Cllr Taylor said "we called for the Rolls to be scrapped many years ago and now that the council is forced to consider its rather serious financial situation over the next few years, the Mayoral expenses have come in for scrutiny." The Lib Dems feel that a driver for the Mayor is perhaps still necessary - though in some other boroughs the Mayors do drive themselves to and from functions.

"We should be setting an example in our transport policy" continued Cllr Taylor "and in the 21st century our Mayor simply does not need to ride around in a Rolls Royce, indeed it could be argued there is far more prestige in using one of the greenest cars available as a means of travel".