The Labour Party in Bury have finally shown their “true colours” when they refused to oppose the proposed Manchester “Congestion Charge” scheme and refused calls for a Greater Manchester referendum on the charge. Labour councillors unanimously refused to support a Lib Dem proposal which set down clearly that Bury was opposed to the Charge and called for the people of Greater Manchester to be consulted through a referendum vote on the issue.

Everyone knows that we need to do something about the lack of public transport infrastructure in the Greater Manchester area, but forcing people to pay an extra £5 a day (at todays prices!) to get the investment we need is ridiculous. For Holyrood Ward where we live its particularly mad - our ward straddles one of the charge points - local people would have to pay to make local journeys to school, the shops or local amenities - without going anywhere near Manchester city centre.

My colleague Cllr Richard Baum made an excellent speech outlining our proposals. When I came to ’second’ the proposals I just highlighted a couple of points. I gave the Council two examples where major public transport investment was happening, that somehow didn’t need a Charge to pay for it (Crossrail in London and the Edinburgh Tram System). I also noted how the decision that Bury would make tonight might actually shape the future by enabling the people of Greater Manchester to have their say in a public referendum.

We had hoped for all-Party support, but Labour tried to subtlety change the proposal to say that the Charge was acceptable if it was agreed locally (by the Greater Manchester councils - most of which are run by their Labour Party friends!). None of us were so easily fooled.

Despite Labour opposition, the Lib Dem proposals were agreed by the Council. Bury now has a clear position that, we need public transport investment, that the Congestion Charge is wrong, and that the people of Greater Manchester need to have their say in a public referendum. Its also clear that Labour couldn’t support this simple position.

You can read our proposal, that’s now Council policy here - Lib Dem TIF Amendment (PDF)

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need any more information on this important subject.

Tim