Congestion charge with no consultation?
READERS of the Stockport Express may recall that several years ago Greater Manchester had a referendum, to decide on the issue of congestion charges for motorists.
All 10 districts of our metropolis rejected the idea out of hand.
Stockport voted against the concept by a larger margin than any of the other districts.
This came as little surprise to me, as I have long regarded our town, rightly or wrongly, as the car capital of Britain.
The people here were never going to voluntarily hand over extra money for something they regarded as a right and a necessity.
The promise by our civic leaders and transport bosses of improved alternatives to the car were not entirely believed.
It did not help matters that the authorities wanted to take the money first and provide the improvements second.
However, the present situation that we find ourselves in, not just in Stockport but also in many other large towns and cities throughout Britain, invited imminent, wholesale change.
Last week, Birmingham city council, citing very poor air quality, decided that enough was enough and announced the introduction of congestion charging, beginning in 2020.
Greater Manchester’s charging zone was to have extended from the city centre, out to the M60 orbital motorway, but Birmingham’s zone will only be about three square miles of its centre.
Cars in Birmingham will be charged between £6 – £10 a day and HGV’s considerably more.
What is significant is that Birmingham is copying London, by bringing in a charge without a referendum.
London’s charge is of course £10 a day for all vehicles and an extra £11 if the vehicle is diesel.
It seems to me that Greater Manchester will begin charging very soon also, without any further consultation.
Our city council dare not allow a situation to arise whereby life expectancy in another English city is significantly better than here.
And it is almost an aside, but are we in all this, witnessing the diminution of a Brexitobsessed parliament and the growing independent power and strength of British cities? John Tyers Marple