£3bn TIF cash `gone for good'

Ian Craig

March 19, 2009

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MINISTERS say Greater Manchester cannot bid again for £3bn to improve transport. Both the Chancellor Alistair Darling and Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell have told the M.E.N. the rejection of the congestion charge scheme has permanently pulled the plug on money from the Transport Innovation Fund.

The consolation prize could be cash for other projects such as motorways or bypasses.

This flies in the face of advice from a Commons committee that labour-intensive projects such as Metrolink would ease the present jobs crisis.

The Environmental Audit Committee said the Treasury should increase funding for transport schemes which would be relatively fast to implement.

Evidence

They heard evidence from roads campaigner Richard George, who said `light rail' needed backing and that included schemes considered in the Manchester TIF bid.

He said these were schemes `ready to go', with no need for extensive public inquiries.

But the Chancellor said that the bid for the cash was tied up with the congestion charge scheme, which could have cost motorists up to £5 a day to travel into the heart of the city.

"People knew at the time there was a vote as far as the TIF fund was concerned," said Mr Darling.

"But Manchester will continue to get its share of overall transport spending.

"I agree this is a time when we ought to bring forward infrastructure projects that will boost jobs in the short term."

Voted

The message that Greater Manchester had lost out was reinforced by the Works and Pensions Secretary Mr Purnell, the MP for Stalybridge and Hyde.

He said he had been strongly in favour of the congestion charge, because it would have brought in a significant amount of money for the region.

"The whole point was that the government said they would put in that funding based on the congestion charge," he said. "But people voted against that.

"People wouldn't be happy if we'd had a referendum, ignored it and gone ahead.

"So clearly, we had to listen to what people said."

Mr Purnell said that despite the setback, local MPs would continue to campaign for transport investment in the region, such as bypasses.

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Roger the dodger, Swinton (19/03/2009 at 07:38)

Because you won't do my bidding, I'm going to take the ball away, so NAH! NAH NAH! Sounds just like the type of childish thing this government always resorts to when it cannot get its own way.

stalyvegasblue (19/03/2009 at 08:16)

So Alistair Darling and James Purnell have spat their dummys out. Holding Greater Manchester residents to ransom was voted out in a democratic manner Mr Purnell! I suggest you go and fight the next election elsewhere and not in the Stalybridge and Hyde constituency if your attitude towards your electorate is to deny them of any funding just because they disagreed with your dictatorial policy!

BillyJ (19/03/2009 at 08:38)

Funding will still be available for by passes? Just when the Mottram and Tintwistle by pass has been cancelled! Look on the bettertransport.org website. What a load of lies.

DaveB, Manchester (19/03/2009 at 08:40)

I am personally looking forward to next year's headlines of "Labour's incompetent clowns and cronies gone for good". Can't come soon enough

Emjay See supporting City is not being able to wake from a dream that keeps turning into a nightmare (19/03/2009 at 08:42)

Need some money for infrastructure?

Oh its for London, here you are help yourself, take all you need. The rest of the country can pay for it. Yeah don't worry, there'll be enough, we'll just make sure no one else gets so much as a bean so that you can have as much as you like.

Chris R, Irlam (19/03/2009 at 08:46)

Good riddance to bad (TIF) rubbish, and hopefully we'll be waving a similar bye-bye to Labour very shortly!

Jay B, oldham (19/03/2009 at 08:56)

oh good they're actually doing something they said they would! if we threw it out that was it! no plan B Hoon the loon said!

i'll accept that!

but can we now have the original massive public transport investement promised from the 1996 labour manifesto? that wasn't tied in with any extra taxes!

not the TIF con that you tried to fool us with!

johnnyboy, Ashton-u-Lyne, Lancashire (19/03/2009 at 09:11)

I would like to say goodbye to Mr. Purnell from the Ashton tram station in Tameside next election as his days are numbered. We want a regulated bus service in Greater Manchester not a new named quango.

Tidders, Rochdale - VOTE NO to the Con Charge (19/03/2009 at 09:19)

"But Manchester will continue to get its share of overall transport spending

Share = anything left after we've spent most of it on London divided by the rest of the country

Justified True Belief , - ... (19/03/2009 at 09:27)

The region could get funds in flash, all voters should tell their MP’s that they are voting Conservative at the next election. It would put the frighteners on “new” Labour. There are over 30 Labour MP’s in “safe seats” in the North West, let them do our bidding or suffer the consequences.

Princess_Pam, Crumpsall (19/03/2009 at 09:42)

If Greater Manchester isn't going to get anything can we ensure that no local money will go to a LONDON Olympics, or a LONDON Cross-Rail scheme, or to LONDON Transport, or to new trams in Croydon, or to the third Runway at Heathrow or to any other scheme in London. Locally collected taxes (including business rates) should be spent l;ocally

Jay B, oldham (19/03/2009 at 09:43)

he's a little snippet!

"Our overriding goal must be to win more passengers and freight on to rail. The system must be run in the public interest with higher levels of investment and effective enforcement of train operators' service commitments."

now i havent seen much of that in the last 12 years or so!

the trains i catch are the same ones from 1990's! the services haven't been increased!

basically a failure!

Donna. Harpurhey (19/03/2009 at 09:56)

Is it any wonder these TIF billions have gone forever when the same government who wanted to force private motorists cars off the roads and on to peasant wagons with this atrocious tax have now given these billions to the ailing car industry to bail them out so that they can put more cars on the "congested" roads. They're even thinking of enticing us to buy new cars by offering us inflated trade in values for our old cars to help the motor industry sell more cars. Gas guzzling Jaguars & Landrovers spring to mind who are getting my tax so there goes all this saving the environment rubbish which was spouted about the Congestion Tax. A "CON TAX" in every sense of the word !!

Sir Elliott Pest, Newton, Nr. Hyde. (19/03/2009 at 10:02)

Chris from Irlam, I'm with you all the way on that, and the soone the glory hunting Purnell has been kicked from his seat, the better our area will be, and the better the country will be with NuLabour kicked out of power too.
It can't come soon enough.

Jay B, oldham (19/03/2009 at 10:05)

Justified True Belief they already know that! they've accepted defeat!
just look at the way they use the excuse of the current economic crisis to put off a general election!
i do hope nearly all the labour safe seats are lost! this lot have ignored us at every turn. lets give them a wake up call!
hopefully the tories can do a better job. they've had plenty of labours mistakes to learn off.

Pippa, Manchester (19/03/2009 at 10:08)

Amazing insight from Mr Purnell "People wouldn't be happy if we'd had a referendum, ignored it and gone ahead.".

Black Flag (19/03/2009 at 10:11)

Princess_Pam: "Locally collected taxes (including business rates) should be spent locally"

I'm afraid you've got it the wrong way round. It would be much fairer to make Council Tax operate on the same basis as Business Rates and collect it nationally and redistribute it. That way, if London gets more investment in infrastructure and property values increase there as a result, they will pay a greater proportion of the tax in return.

What you are suggesting would be a disaster for Manchester, as we'd stop receiving any payment in return for the work in London we've financed.

Bean B4, manchester (19/03/2009 at 10:13)

Good! We don't want blackmail. Good bye to TIF, good bye to Labour.

I say to all Labour politicians, go to your constituancies and Wards and prepare for ... the wilderness for another generation. You have disgracefully let us all down.

Mark,Radcliffe. (19/03/2009 at 10:22)

A Bypass Labour at the next election will definately go ahead.

Anthony , Accrington,Lancashire (19/03/2009 at 10:22)

So? At least it won't cost a bomb to get round Manchester!

Munkey Boy, Audenshaw (19/03/2009 at 10:35)

Is this really news? Was anyone really so deluded as to think we would get the cash without TIF?

Jay: "the trains i catch are the same ones from 1990's! the services haven't been increased!

basically a failure!"

There really isn't much scope to run trains more frequently while the current terminals stay as they are in Manchester City Centre, there just isn't enough room. It would take a step change in transport investment to add to the capacity, and I don't see anyone proposing that.

Frostee, Oldham (19/03/2009 at 10:50)

So it was blackmail afterall! The sooner this pathetic government are out of office the better. I'd rather vote for the Looney Party than New Labour.

Bejjy ex Salford now Malta, Malta (19/03/2009 at 11:04)

The people of Greater Manchester are being punished by Nu Labour ministers because the people did not do what the Government wanted them to do by not voting for the congestion charge. Pathetic is the only way to describe the Nu Labour sleaze and corruption party.

Ran Droid, Manchester (19/03/2009 at 11:20)

Labour make me laugh, recently a few Labour MPs complained about the negative views of people over the pulling of the TIF, highlighting the fact we get the 'Little Bang' Metrolink extension - conveniently forgetting that getting the extension was like pulling teeth, whilst London gets billions lavished on it.

It'll be good to see Labour go - for good hopefully - it's just sad the Tories won't be that much better.

David, North M/C (19/03/2009 at 11:31)

Manchester as well as other British Cities are to remain third world where public transport is concerned. Indeed a City the size of Manchester should boast an underground system, a suburban rail network and a tram system that covers the whole City. How far are we away from this, 100, 200 years ?

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