Lib Dems pull support for Congestion Charging! (Rochdale Liberal Democrats)

Rochdale Liberal Democrats <info@rochdalelibdems.org.uk>

Lib Dems pull support for Congestion Charging!

April 19, 2007 1:13 AM

Councillor Taylor with Lib Dem Leader Sir Menzies Campbell.

Rochdale Council has joined 2 other Greater Manchester Authorities in withdrawing support from Congesting Charging. This follows the failure of Labour Transport Bosses to reveal exactly how much and where they plan to charge. The withdrawal of support came after Transport Bosses failed to meet a deadline of Friday 13th April to reveal the details.

Leader of Rochdale Council - Councillor Alan Taylor said, "We have been supportive right from the start of the debate - the fact remains that Labour Transport Bosses refuse to tell us where they plan to charge. The reality is that they know, the Transport Innovation Fund bid runs into hundreds of millions and it is inconceivable that they haven't submitted detailed plans. I can only therefore draw the conclusion that they are deliberately misleading us and it is for that reason that we are withdrawing our support."

Councillor Taylor continued, "When we gave our initial backing it came with 4 key conditions - these included backing from the public, businesses, the ability to continue attracting investment into our Town Centres and a proviso that roads that actually suffered from congestion were only considered. We were also clear that there needed to be a huge investment in public transport before any congestion charge was levied. The Liberal Democrats cannot continue to support Congestion Charging, whilst this information is withheld by Labour Transport Bosses. We have the ridiculous situation where the Labour Party in Rochdale are attacking us over our previous, conditional support over this issue. They have the Deputy Chairman of the Greater Manchester PTA - Councillor Brett who is saying nothing. His silence speaks volumes and we are not prepared to be messed about in this manner."