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Lib Dems claim they blocked secret Tory plan to charge people £120 a year to use the A1



Conservative's deny they planned to introduce new charges to use A-roads like A1 and A69 during last Government

The Lib Dems claim they blocked secret Tory plans to charge drivers more than £100 a year to use the A1 as former Coalition colleagues come to blows.

The Conservatives proposed the introduction of a ‘network pass’ that would have asked motorists to chip in £10 a month to use the A1 in Northumberland, the A66 between Teesside and the A1 and the A66 and A69 across the Pennines.

Our North East Manifesto revealed that dualling of the A1 was a high priority for the people of the North East - read more here.

The Lib Dems claim the plans never came to fruition because of their hard work to stop them, but today the Conservatives have described the revelation made by the Lib Dems former transport minister Norman Baker as ‘fantasy’.

Conservative Transport Minister Patrick McLoughlin instead attempted to shift the focus back to Nick Clegg’s party.

Mr McLoughlin said: “The truth is that the people most in favour of road charging during the life of this government was the Lib Dems.”

Norman Baker maintains detailed plans were drawn up which would have stung drivers with a double cost - first when they pay for their road tax, and secondly with a charge for using motorways and A-roads.

The levy would have been managed through a number plate recognition system.

This is the second time Mr Baker has spoken out in less than complimentary terms on his experiences working within the Coalition, having previously described working for Theresa May’s Home Office as like ‘walking through mud’.

He said: “In 2013, when I was a minister at the Department for Transport, my Lib Dem ministerial colleagues and I blocked a Conservative proposal to charge drivers £120 a year for using motorways and a large list of A-roads, including the A1, A19, and A66.

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“The plans would have led to slower journeys and more congestion as people diverted onto smaller roads such as the A68 and A697 in Northumberland to save money, annoying the residents of local towns and villages and increasing the risk of accidents - Britain’s back-roads are statistically far more dangerous than larger roads.

“And of course, the costs of implementing such a scheme would have been huge.

“I am on record as saying that I support road pricing – but not a crude scheme like this.

“The Tory proposal would have broken the “polluter pays” link that we have at the moment between emissions and tax, by charging a flat amount for accessing certain types of roads. Worse, people would have been incentivised to drive more and get their money’s worth once they had paid the charge.”

Conservative Transport Minister Patrick McLoughlin said: “This is simply not true. I enjoyed working with Norman Baker and regard him as a decent man. It is sad to see him resorting to complete fantasy and low tactics because the Liberal Democrats are facing such heavy losses.

“But, sadly, that is exactly what he is doing. The truth is that the people most in favour of road charging during the life of this government was the Lib Dems.”

Julie Pörksen, Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate for Berwick who is fighting a bitter battle against Conservative rival Anne-Marie Trevelyan, added: “This is an example of the vital role Liberal Democrat MPs played in reining in the Conservatives over the last five years.”

source: http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/nor ... et-9093221

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