It won’t just be environmentalists fuming about the latest government industry bail out.

Taxpayers across the country will be incredulous that Land Rover’s PR machine has seemingly convinced Peter Madelson’s enterprise department that saving production of their ‘Chelsea tractors’ with an estimated £700 million bung is essential for the future of British manufacturing.

This, in the face of years of government tax increases to put people off buying large 4x4s in the name of environmental protection. From next year anyone buying a 4.2 litre Range Rover that spews out 299g of CO2 per kilometre will have to pay a first year road tax of £950 and £430 ever subsequent year.

So in context this means the government is planning to take up to £950 in tax for each of the company’s 130,000 4x4s produced. While at the same time give a public subsidy of up to £3200 for each of these same 130,000 vehicles. It would be hard to make up.

To say nothing that this is a company now part of Jaguar Land Rover owned by India’s TATA Corporation. Should public money be used to protect a foreign owned company, who show such concern for their manufacturing jobs in the Midlands, that they’ve just agreed to plough some of the corporation's vast profits into the Ferrari's Formula One team.

If rationality or fairness or morality had anything to do with this decision such a bail out given the company’s healthy balance sheet cannot be contemplated. 

Rescuing this outpost of Mr Tata's empire would be a terrible signal to similar foreign corporations with UK interests, as well as making an utter mockery of this government’s green credentials.

But if they can pull it off, it will be a triumph for the PR machine behind what, despite its faults, is still the best 4X4 by far.

December 29, 2008