Manchester C-charge debate kicks off

The battle over plans to introduce Britain's biggest congestion charge zone in Manchester have begun in earnest as opponents have hit out at the proposed referendum as unbalanced and incomprehensible.

Of particular concern is that the congestion charge is not even mentioned on the proposed ballot paper.

The referendum question reads: "Do you agree with the Transport Innovation Fund proposals?" - a reference to the £3bn package of public transport improvements promised to Manchester by the government in return for agreeing to implement a charge from 2013.

The Greater Manchester Momentum Group (GMMG), a business alliance that opposes the charge, said almost half Manchester's residents did not know about the plans, despite a 14-week consultation.

"We feel strongly that the current suggestion [for the referendum] is unbalanced and . . . would mean little to many people who don't even know about the consultation," a spokesman said.

"Transport Innovation Fund is jargon and would mean little to many people, who didn't even know about the consultation."

As we commented here on this blog back in June, when the government gave the nod to the scheme, it's bizarre that Manchester is considering introducing congestion charging at all given admissions in London that the capital's landmark scheme has failed to cut congestion, evidence that the average speed of traffic in London is dropping, not increasing, and the pending outcome of a public consultation on whether the western extension to the zone should be scrapped altogether.

That the government and Manchester authorities seem prepared to ignore the evident failure and unpopularity of the London scheme indicates strongly that milking yet more cash from the already over-burdened car user is the only real motivation behind the plan.

The Manchester scheme will include two charging rings, one just inside the M60 and the other around the city centre. Drivers would pay to cross each at peak times when entering in the morning and leaving at night, in contrast to London's catch-all scheme.

Dave Goddard, leader of Stockport council and an opponent of the scheme has also criticised the referendum question.

He said: "Electoral Commission guidelines say the question should be in language people can understand. People understand the congestion charge, they do not understand 'Transport Innovation Fund'."

For the plans to come into effect, seven of the 10 Manchester boroughs must agree. It is expected that Mr Goddard and the leaders of Trafford and Bury councils, who also oppose the congestion charge, will be outvoted at a meeting of Greater Manchester authorities next week that will decide the referendum question.

Ballot papers will be sent out next month and must be returned by post by December 11. Though the poll has no legal force, council leaders have agreed to abide by the result.

Government gives go-ahead for Manchester C-charge

Transport secretary Ruth Kelly has in the last hour announced the government's support for the introduction of congestion charging in Manchester.

In the now classic style of Bungler Brown's government, the news comes despite recent admissions in London that the capital's scheme has failed to cut congestion, evidence that the average speed of traffic in London is dropping, not increasing and increasing pressure for the scheme to be shrunk.

Hardly the optimal moment to announce an expansion of the idea, even without considering financial factors like car users already being hammered by fuel prices and people generally feeling the pinch.

It would also be unwise for Manchester residents to assume that the initial charge of £5 for entering the zone would remain at that level for very long, or that the boundaries of the two-ringed invisible toll wouldn't soon shift from their initial positions in order to increase revenue.

A public consultation will now be held on the plan.

The government will provide £1.5bn to support the scheme, with the rest of the £2.8bn cost coming coming from the city authorities themselves.

Where the extra funds for the over-runs that inevitably blight major government schemes will come from is not clear, with local council taxpayers potentially having to foot the bill.

Responding to the government's statement, Theresa Villiers MP asked why three out of ten councils in Manchester oppose the plan.

Stockport, Trafford and Bury councils are no longer supporting the bid for funding and councillors in Bolton - where Ruth Kelly's own highly marginal seat is located - have promised to hold a public referendum on the issue.

Andrew Simpson, chairman of the Greater Manchester Momentum Group (GMMG) - a lobby group formed by major businesses opposed to congestion charging - said:

"It's right that we want improved public transport, but if the cost of that is something that's going to cost people in this region up to £1,200 a year to get to work, then I think that's going to be very bad for our jobs and our economy."

The group has support from major Manchester stores Harvey Nichols, Lookers and Makro, along with the owners of the Trafford Centre and a range of other business organisations.

In typical fashion, the scheme is being sold as a means to deliver 'a first-class public transport system'. Though where all the money Manchester residents - not least car users - have already stumped up in taxes has gone if not not towards providing just such a system is a more pertinent question.

Now we are expected to stump up even more from the public pocket in order to introduce a system that will hit car users with even more bills.

Is there no end to this government's greed for our cash? As ever, aimed first of all at soft-target car users who already pay far more in taxes to the Treasury than are spent on road transport improvements.