Dave Wetzel

Overview

Dave Wetzel (1942–2024) was a British bus-industry trade unionist turned transport official and long-time land value tax campaigner. He served as the first Vice-Chairman of Transport for London for eight years (2000–2008) under Mayor Ken Livingstone, and was also Chair of London Buses (2000–01) and of TfL's Safety, Health and Environment Committee.[1][2] He was a long-standing officer of the Labour Land Campaign and President of the International Union for Land Value Taxation.[2]

Wetzel argued for land value taxation, following Henry George, as a fairer and more efficient way to fund public transport than fares or general taxation, on the grounds that transport investment itself raises the value of land near stations and routes.[3] Fred Harrison's Ricardo's Law (2006) documents Wetzel pressing this case, alongside Mayor Livingstone, in official transport-funding debates including submissions to the UK government's Lyons Inquiry into local government finance.[4] He was also an advocate of congestion pricing for London as a complementary land/road-rent capture mechanism.

See Also

• Labour Land Campaign — the UK advocacy group Wetzel served as an officer of
• International Union for Land Value Taxation — the international body he presided over
• Congestion Pricing — the related transport-funding mechanism he advocated for London
• Land Value Tax · Henry George

Sources

1. "Remembering Dave Wetzel (1942-2024)," Morning Star, 2024 — used for birth/death years and obituary confirmation. morningstaronline.co.uk
2. Dave Wetzel, biographical note, Common Ground USA — used for his TfL Vice-Chairmanship (2000–08), London Buses chairmanship, and roles with the International Union for Land Value Taxation and land-value-tax advocacy. commonground-usa.net
3. Dave Wetzel, "Land Value Tax," 2005 — primary-source statement of his land-value-capture-for-transport argument. ccmj.org
4. Fred Harrison (2006), Ricardo's Law: House Prices and the Great Tax Clawback Scam, Shepheard-Walwyn, Ch. 5 — the discovery source; documents Wetzel's advocacy of LVT for transport funding, including in relation to the Lyons Inquiry. Wiki book page