Labour's Con Charge Given the Boot by Stockport

3.09.00pm GMT Fri 12th Dec 2008

The people of Stockport rejected Labour's Con Charge by a massive majority

Stuart Bodsworth Lib Dem Parliamentary Spokesman for Stockport has welcomed the overwhelming NO vote in the congestion charge referendum.

"Labour's Congestion charge plans would have saddled Greater Manchester with a massive debt that it may never have been able to pay off." Said Stuart Bodsworth. "The Con charge plan was the brainchild of the Labour leaders of Manchester City council and was deeply flawed. It could never have been delivered on the budget set out by Labour and to pay back the crippling PFI debt the income from the Con Charge needed to be kept very high."

Stockport returned the highest majority against the Con charge. Stuart Bodsworth said, "The massive local majority against, is an indication of how poorly the TIF bid treated Stockport."

"Now the Government must hand over the money they had offered for transport improvements in Greater Manchester." Said Stuart. "It is time this government treated Greater Manchester fairly instead of ploughing money into the South East and starving the North West of the investment we need!"