THE Manchester Evening News' exclusive poll on road pricing highlighted a key tension at the centre of the debate.

On one hand, 64 per cent said road pricing was a bad idea and 80 per cent that it would have a negative impact on Greater Manchester's economy.

On the other, 59 per cent said it was a price worth paying to get £1bn worth of public transport improvements including the full "Big Bang" extension of the Metrolink tram system to Rochdale, the airport and Ashton under Lyne.

Investment

Since then we have learned that the true scale of investment could be three times the original estimate - £3bn - and include huge investment in trains and buses as well as extra light rail lines to Stockport and the Trafford Centre.

In our survey, conducted by CBA Marketing Research in March, 61 per cent of people said a congestion charge would NOT change the way they travelled.

Half said it would mean they would come into Manchester for shopping or entertainment less often - but that was before AGMA declared the charge would only apply at peak times.

Sixty-three per cent said congestion was a "serious problem" in Greater Manchester, while 66 per cent of existing public transport users said they doubted the system would be able to cope with increased demand. But, again, that was before details of the planned investment were unveiled by the Manchester Evening News.

And while 53 per cent of people said they would vote against a party that supported congestion charging, the results of the council elections in May told a different story. Labour lost just two seats across 14 councils in and around Greater Manchester, despite the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats temporarily withdrawing support for the charging proposals just before polling day.

What do you think? Have your say.