Thomas Butler, Liverpool Socialist Party
Learning to drive is known as a lengthy process, however in the past year the backlog for driving tests has increased so much that waiting times are the highest ever. The average waiting time for a test now stands at over a frustratingly long five months. Long waiting times began under the Conservative government, one impact of years of public-sector cuts, and continue to grow under Starmer’s government. Starmer’s refusal to adequately invest in public services has meant no improvement, and Heidi Alexander, the transport secretary, has been forced to admit that waiting times have become “unacceptable”.
People struggling to book a test find themselves under assault on two fronts. Labour’s austerity path has also thundered its way through public transport with the scrapping of the £2 bus ticket cap and train cancellations are up 13%. If there was adequate and affordable public transport the demand for driving tests would not be so high. The high cost of driving lessons and tests mean that fewer young people have been opting to learn to drive. But the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, responsible for driving tests, still says demand is too high! And Starmer’s Labour is launching new rounds of cuts to the civil service, so it’s only going to get worse.
The capitalist system prioritises big business interests over what working-class people need. An adequate transportation system can be provided by fully nationalising public transport under democratic workers’ control. As part of a socialist plan of production it would truly be run in the public’s interests – high-quality and free. With full funding for our public services, people would be free to choose if they wish to learn to drive or not, without having to worry about long waiting times or expensive public transport. Either way, transportation is a necessity and Starmer’s Labour clearly does not treat it as one.
