Call for trial of pay to drive scheme

A think tank has called for a trial of pay as you drive motoring and a universal basic income in a manifesto which it claimed could “do a great deal of good” if enacted by the next Scottish Government.

Reform Scotland produced the manifesto saying it wanted to publish a series of proposals that might “garner cross-party support”.

Chris Deerin, the think tank’s director, said such action was needed because while the Scottish Parliament had been intended to operate differently from Westminster, things “hadn’t worked out like that”.

It called for electronic road pricing, where motorists would be charged according to the miles they covered.

The think tank also suggested a basic income scheme could provide a “long-term solution to many problems within our welfare system and could help to create the right long-term environment as we rebuild our lives and our economy” after coronavirus.

Mr Deerin said each suggestion could improve the state of the nation “a little”, and together they could achieve a “great deal”.

Think tank director Chris Deerin.