TOWN hall leaders who backed congestion charging say they are dismayed, but not surprised, by the crushing `No' vote.
Sir Richard Leese,
Manchester
council's leader and one of the plan's architects, said: "This was the only opportunity to get £3bn of investment in public transport over the next five years and 10,000 jobs to go with it. So far, nobody has been able to put forward a credible alternative to get those levels of investment."
Lord Peter Smith, leader of
Wigan
council and leader of the Association of Greater Manchester Councils, saidthe campaign was always going to be difficult. He said: "It is always a huge challenge to win any referendum and this one was always going to be particularly difficult - given the high feelings it has engendered."
Lobbied
Bolton
was the first local authority to call for a public vote. Leader Cliff Morris, who heads the Labour coalition, said although he personally supported the scheme, his council had not lobbied heavily for the proposals. He said: "I told people which way I was voting, but we were always keen to let the voters decide."
Howard Sykes, leader of
Oldham
council, said: "I'm disappointed, but not surprised. I was one of the people who always wanted a referendum. It's not Mugabe's Zimbabwe. We can't fiddle the results just because we don't like them."
Rochdale
council also expressed dismay, saying plans to build a town centre tram line had now been scuttled. Paul Rowen, the town's Lib Dem MP, said: "I don't think the current economic climate helped as people are watching their pennies."
John Merry, leader of
Salford
council was in favour of the congestion charge. He said: "There is no Plan B and traffic congestion in and around Manchester will get worse."
Regret
At
Tameside, politicians on all parties were attending the funeral of Margaret Oldham, a senior councillor and wife of the borough's leader Roy Oldham, and were not present at the declaration.
In a statement, a spokesman for the authority expressed `regret over the loss of investment'. Council bosses in
Bury,
Stockport
and
Trafford
had all been critics of the plans.
Despite fierce exchanges between the authorities on the issue, Susan Williams, Tory leader of Trafford council, struck a conciliatory note. "Trafford was the authority that had the most to lose if this had gone through," she said. "Now we need to regroup as 10 authorities and put together a Plan B. I am confident another way can be found of getting money to invest in public transport."
Dave Goddard, Lib Dem head of Stockport, and Bob Bibby, Bury's Tory leader, also called on the government to redraw its funding plans for regional transport.
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Showing comments 1 to 14 and replies | View All
Gricer, Wigan (13/12/2008 at 07:42)
feston gonzalez (13/12/2008 at 08:34)
the real disgrace is that they wasted over £30 million of our money on propaganda and spin.
they should all do the decent thing - apologise for wasting so much money and resign. or be sacked.
that £30 million could have been put to far better use - like widening the M60 near the M62 & Worsley junctions where congestion is a real problem (unlike in the city centre where things aren't too bad)
PW, Manchester (13/12/2008 at 09:19)
I hope this concept/mechanism of voting has been highlighted to those who do nothing at election time. People do have power, and it's such a shame they don't use it more often.
Do have a good weekend Mr Leese.
Mr Paul Teeque - DEMOCRACY IS ALIVE IN MANCHESTER! WE WON!, Proud of his fellow mancs!!! (13/12/2008 at 10:37)
If con tax came if we would lose FAR more than 10,000 jobs. Looking at the bbc maptube link such a wide area would work or shop elsewhere.
Is dicky getting selective memory again?!
Esso Blue. Dead man walking, Planet Blueto (13/12/2008 at 11:02)
It's called trying to save face. Everyone in parliament laughed at Gordon Brown for a little gaff, well what are they thinking here.
I suppose small gaffs are tongue and cheek? but come on, it's like over grown school children, having certain education doesn't always make you a man.
Trumpetman21 (13/12/2008 at 11:32)
You REPRESENT us - you do not RULE us.
Remember that & do OUR bidding - not your own.
Andrew , Manchester (13/12/2008 at 17:16)
How on earth are we going to get the investment needed for public transport, now Manchester has voted no. The government will love the fact it no longer has to pay out the billions it would have had to pay with a Yes vote.
Anyone getting a new job who wants to drive to work, better make sure they are driving against the flow of traffic or in future years may not get there on time very often.
Phil Turner (13/12/2008 at 19:39)
I think it's time to get rid of the donkeys
Jozef Goj, Colo Heights NSW Australia (14/12/2008 at 05:27)
You want plan B?
Use the money already being spent on infrastructure that works.
The single cause for the jams gridlock and congestion? Today Intersections.
The Highways and Roads Departments do not have a solution.
The Government has no solution.
This RAC quote (last week) after the completion of 5.8 miles of M6 in the UK.
’ Existing junctions and access roads were unlikely to be able to cope with increased traffic volumes.’
‘Liquid Flow Traffic’ intersection designs are the answer for these.
They eliminate jams gridlock and congestion.
You never stop when crossing town in peak traffic
Henry Piggot-Smythe, Prestbury (14/12/2008 at 16:38)
Uncle Buck, City of Manchester (not Trafford) (15/12/2008 at 00:50)
Let's get this straight: It was £2.75bn, not £3bn! And then if you take away £318m set up costs, and around £600m 'revenue shortfall contingency', that leaves about £1.83bn for the so called investment. As the grant part of the Tif was £1.5bn, couldn't they have done most of what they wanted with the grant alone? Of course! It was about road-pricing!!!
Dickie, we're not stupid. RESIGN NOW!!!
Trumpetman21 (15/12/2008 at 08:24)
Absolute codswallop - traffic is DOWN in the region over the last decade - check it out for yourself instead of regurgitating pro-toll claptrap on here.
Andy2, Manchester (15/12/2008 at 14:11)
johnnyboy, Ashton-u-Lyne, Lancashire (15/12/2008 at 17:09)