May pledges to scrap tolls for motorists on the Severn Crossing
English and Welsh economies will benefit from abolition of £6.70 levy, says Prime Minister
THERESA MAY gave motorists a major boost yesterday as she pledged to scrap tolls for all vehicles on the Severn Crossings if she is re-elected on June 8.
The Prime Minister believes abolishing the charges would boost economic fortunes on both sides of the river to the tune of £100 million and would benefit an estimated 25million drivers every year.
The proposal would end the current system whereby motorists are charged when they enter Wales, but not when they leave.
Over the past 50 years, drivers have paid tolls on the crossings between
‘What our cost of living is in the future depends on us being able to have a really good economy’
South Wales and the south-west of England that currently stand at £6.70 for cars, rising to £20 for lorries.
The policy would be implemented next year if the Conservatives are victorious in the election, when Highways England takes over responsibility for the bridges from Severn Crossings PLC, which was given the right to collect tolls for 25 years in return for building a second crossing in 1992.
“By abolishing tolls for 25 million annual journeys between two nations we will strengthen the links between communities," Mrs May said. “This will drive economic growth right across the country helping key economic centres in Cardiff, Bath, Bristol and Newport.”
Elsewhere, the Prime Minister warned that workers will pay the price if Britain fails to secure a good deal on Brexit because it would drive up the cost of living. Facing questions from workers at a Screwfix warehouse in Stoke-on-trent, she said: “The cost of living, when we are seeing inflation, obviously, has gone up slightly – the impact of what’s happened to the currency. There is an impact in relation to the price of food.
"What we need to do is to make sure that we get that Brexit deal right. There will be some uncertainty for business and people over the next couple of years as we are doing that negotiation.
“But what we need to do is make sure that we get that negotiation right so we get the best possible deal. Because our future and what our cost of living is in the future depends on us being able to do that and have a really good economy.”
She vowed that the state pension would continue to rise but refused to commit explicitly to keeping the triple lock on state pensions.
Mrs May has faced repeated ques- tions over whether the Tories will include in their manifesto a pledge to keep the triple lock, which guarantees that pensioner income increases by at least 2.5 per cent every year.
Mrs May said “pensions will continue to rise under a Conservative government” and how that is achieved “will be set out in our manifesto”.
Earlier in the day Mrs May had visited Birmingham where the Tories will be hoping to replicate the success of Andy Street, the newly elected Conservative mayor of the West Midlands.
She told children at Nishkam Primary School, in Handsworth, that she was a fan of the Harry Potter books and had read them all.
Earlier, a Tory education minister faced criticism after he said he was campaigning against cuts to school funding.
Edward Timpson, who is fighting to keep his Crewe and Nantwich seat, was quoted by the Crewe Chronicle as saying education funding, as set out in the Tories’ proposed national funding formula, needed to be “fairer” for the area.