Voters reject congestion charge

[GrandOldTeam]

BBC NEWS | England | Manchester | Voters reject congestion charge

The people of Greater Manchester have voted against plans to introduce a congestion charge in the region. Nearly two million people were asked if they supported a peak-time road charge which would open up a £2.8bn investment in regional transport.
A majority of voters in all of the region's 10 boroughs voted against the controversial plans.
It means the application for government Transport Innovation Fund (TiF) cash will not now go ahead.
The overall turnout across the 12 local authorities was about 53.2% with 1,033,000 people casting their vote.
The failed plan aimed to create the biggest road congestion zone in the UK, charging drivers up to £5 a day to use Greater Manchester's roads.

Immediately after the result was announced, officials in the 'Yes' campaign told BBC News they were "disappointed with the voting turnout".
Jason Torrence, who supported the charge, said: "This is a sad day. This was a innovative solution which would have put Manchester in the premier league of cities in the world."
Chris Hopkins, chief executive of Hydes Brewery in Moss Side, who was part of the 'No' campaign, said the charge of up to £1,200 a year on his employees was just too much for the promised improvements in public transport.
He added: "I'm very pleased with the outcome. It's just unfortunate a lot of time and money and effort has gone into it.
"We thought it was ill conceived and the people of Manchester did as well."
The plans needed a majority in favour in at least seven local authorities to get the go-ahead.

Councillor Margaret Eaton, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: "Manchester's decision is a good example of local people having their say about the things that affect them most and deciding what's right for their area.
"These decisions should always be made by local people, not politicians in Whitehall."
Those against the proposals claimed the charge would have been an unfair tax on motorists, while those in favour had maintained it was a chance to create the best public transport system in the UK.
Motorists would have paid to cross two charging rings at peak times. The outer ring roughly follows the M60 orbital motorway, while the inner ring surrounds Manchester city centre.
Sir Richard Leese, leader of Manchester City Council, which has the lowest turnout said: "The referendum has given a very clear outcome.
"I'm sure the economic downturn, which is hitting everyone hard, has had a part to play.
"Investment in public transport in Manchester will remain a priority for the city council and our commitment to face up to the challenges going forward remains undiminished."

Anyone surprised?

 

[Whitebootman]

Anyone surprised?

Manchester City Council

 

[Blue Ray]

Stupid idea anyway. Its the government that cause congestion by not spending what they make off the motorist on better roads in the first place. Think its changed the ammount of traffic in London? Not a chance. They just want to take advantage of us all again because most people use cars to get around. We're easy targets. Cheeky bastards.

 

[Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian]

i voted against, so you can all pos rep me as if they'd got away with it then how long before lcc forced one on you. i can take my "vote no" out now and hopefully get an " i said stick it" one. tbh i would prob have only had to pay it a couple of times a year but i am against it full stop, and my area wouldve benefitted in other ways i.e. rail link/trams.

 

[uknightbreed]

i think the congestion charge is a complete rip off anyway.
the enviromental reasoning behind it is a sham , its all about making money to help pay inflated bonuses to civil servants (speed cameras too have nothing to do with safety)

but at the same time its a bit silly putting such a question to a public vote .

whats the next vote ? do you want to pay £1000 tax a week for having a poo ?

 

[Blue Ray]

i think the congestion charge is a complete rip off anyway.
the enviromental reasoning behind it is a sham , its all about making money to help pay inflated bonuses to civil servants (speed cameras too have nothing to do with safety)

but at the same time its a bit silly putting such a question to a public vote .

whats the next vote ? do you want to pay £1000 tax a week for having a poo ?

Fair point. I'm waiting for them to make us wear breathing aperatus with a meter on so they can charge us for the air we breath. The lunatics are running the asylum.

 

[Vim Fuego]

Like i need another reason to avoid watching Granada Reports !

 

[Cahill's Metatarsal]

Like i need another reason to avoid watching Granada Reports !

Like I need another reason to avoid Manchester

They're taking the [Poor language removed] piss, it's not to relieve congestion, it's just a way of stinging motorists because they know most would have no option but to pay if they put it in place

 

[Bruce Wayne]

As a resident of London I perhaps have greater insight into how the charge works. Traffic does seem to be heavy throughout the day I've found, but, and this is perhaps the key point, public transport is full to the brim pretty much all the time.

For instance with the Oyster card I can get half way across London by bus for just 90p. I don't know about Manchester but a similar journey where I used to live would cost a good few pounds. This results in the buses there largely travelling empty. If such a scenario were replicated in London I dread to think how congested the roads would be.

 

[uknightbreed]

just out of interest , but is there any major world city that hasnt got a congestion problem ?

is there another alternative being used anywhere in the world ?


my idea involves cannons and a parachute

 

[Cahill's Metatarsal]

just out of interest , but is there any major world city that hasnt got a congestion problem ?

is there another alternative being used anywhere in the world ?


my idea involves cannons and a parachute

Become an MP, bring that up in Parliament. Please

 

[Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian]

its all just about screwing whoever they can for as much as they can. one of the more financial minded members may know what the approxiamate %age of income ends up going out in some form of tax, be interesting to see how much this has changed by over the years as more taxes have been introduced. i believe that the said figure shows us to be 1 of the most taxed on earth.
ryan air have cut some routes, its the tax that is stopping them selling the seats and the knock on effect will be that some will have bought in the destinations with the intention of renting, now you cant get there cheap so what happens to the apartment they cant afford ? there is nom need for the departure tax at all, bill us and leave it upto us to pay it, see how many revolt and rip it up.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Pretty sure we're taxed around 40% of income. Yes, GDP is around 1.8 trillion and public spending was 678 billion. 37% of GDP. So we're pretty much all top rate tax payers. Great innit. You can see here how this compares globally

Hope you're earning lots up there in Legoland Neb. Can't say I'd like to be giving half my earnings to this tosspot government to waste.

 

[Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian]

does that include income tax or is it based on take home pay. when i lived in nz they were saying that theres was really high but people didnt realise it cos it was gst(vat) and other hidden taxes, they reckoned they were 1 of the highest taxed after the swiss.
nz is a lovely place but when you take that into account and the fact that latest figures show it takes 19 years of the average salary to buy an average house it doesnt take much working out that its a bit of a slog. aus is also up there on the house equation too, in fact nz has only just overtaken it for the 1st time.

 

[Reidy's Bottle Of Grecian]

i'm sure there are many different charts showing different results as well though. as vic reeves said, "99.9999999999999999999999999% of statistics are made up"