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Darling refuses to back car charging
By Dick Murray, Transport Editor, Evening Standard Last updated at 00:00am on 16.10.02Transport Secretary Alistair Darling today repeatedly refused to endorse Ken Livingstone's plan to introduce congestion charging for London.
Asked specifically at least seven times on BBC Radio 4's Today programme whether the Mayor was doing the right thing in pressing ahead with his plans for the charge on 17 February, Mr Darling ducked the questions.
He insinuated that Mr Livingstone was anti-car and could be facing an "uphill struggle" with the scheme because of the amount of opposition.
Mr Darling appeared to cast severe doubts on the Mayor's plans because alternative methods of public transport - principally Tube and bus - are not yet good enough.
The minister said that if congestion charging was to be successful then it would have to be done by "popular consent". Drivers, pedestrians and those involved with pollution would have to be convinced it was the right thing.
This is far from the case in London, where the main motoring organisations have warned of traffic chaos and increased pollution around the boundaries of the charge area, with side roads turned into "rat runs".
His interview on Today turned into a furious spat when, time after time, he evaded the question of whether he supported the Mayor's scheme.
At one point interviewer John Humphrys interrupted the Transport Secretary to say: "You are ducking this one, aren't you? You are not going to tell me whether it is a good idea or not."
Mr Darling was first asked: "Are you broadly in favour of congestion charging? Do you think that Ken Livingstone is doing the right thing?" He answered: "The problems vary in different parts of the country."
"What about London, then?" Mr Darling: "I think you have to be very clear in relation to whether it is congestion charging or road pricing. You have got to have something that is workable. You have got to be able to say to people, look, you will gain from it." Mr Humphrys: "Right, you think that is the case in London?"
Mr Darling then started talking about the M6 in Birmingham, which next year is due to become the first toll motorway in the country. But motorists will have a choice of whether to use the faster, paid-for lanes or take the cheaper, slower routes.
Mr Humphrys said that was exactly his point and that people will not have a choice in London. "Therefore is it the right thing to do in London?" the minister was asked yet again.
He replied: "I think that congestion charging, if you introduce it, has to be workable but you do have to take people with you."
Mr Humphrys then accused the minister of ducking the questions. Mr Darling replied: "In principle, measures to stop congestion are a good idea but you have got to have it workable.
"You have got to think through the consequences. You have got to take people with you. If your stance is you are anti-car, or you want to punish people, you are facing an uphill struggle."
