I get the argument but the other is as I said, they use the road they pay the tax. Users of modern vehicles doing low miles are not exempt.I think the argument is that they're used far far less than a normal car, most will probably be luck to do more than a thousand miles or so a year.
Plus it's an incentive to keep our heritage alive and working and not scrapped or sat in a shed somewhere no one can see it.
As for talk of penny pinching etc, yes thats exactly what they are doing, anyone who listens to the news will know the hole they are in.