Stockport Council will shortly be launching a public awareness campaign to ensure Stockport residents are fully informed about what congestion charging and the TIF proposals mean for our Borough. The Council is also seeking to correct the mass of misinformation and confusing advertising promoting the congestion charge.

Stockport Conservative Group oppose Congestion Charging. There are many reasons why we take this position, they are all worth thinking about in the run up to the vote. Perhaps top of this list is that the promise of improvements to our public transport network in return for us accepting a congestion charge with no cap on what can be charged is simple blackmail. There are many other areas, all over the country, where improvements to public transport are being made – mostly paid for by the Government- without it being dependent on accepting unfair extra charges just for going to work and coming home again. For example, Birmingham is getting a £600 million upgrade to Birmingham New Street Station. The Tyne & Wear Metro is being upgraded with new trains and signalling to the tune of £225 million. Nottingham is getting two new tram lines. In Bath a £54 million package will see the City provided with expanded and new Park & Ride schemes, a Bus Rapid Transit Route and “real time” information displays at bus stops. In Scotland, the City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Government are funding the building of a new £545 million Edinburgh tram network. Are any of these public transport improvements dependent on the residents paying a congestion charge? No. Like everywhere else Stockport residents already pay road tax and Council tax so why, unlike everywhere else, should they be asked to pay for improvements to public transport and the transport network when other towns and cities have these funded?

For the sake of argument, take the £2.7 billion the congestion charge is supposed to bring in and divide it between the 10 Boroughs. If you divide it equally, that means Stockport would in theory get £270 million – less than half what Birmingham will spend on refurbishing their mainline railway station. Doesn’t look like very much now does it?