Or, as TC wonders, is it to save her Bolton seat in the face of public anger about a Congestion Charging plan for Manchester – and support for rejection that is far more extensive across the region than mainstream news reports? The ludicrously timed announcement that T-Minister Ruth Kelly quits cabinet post – like at 3 a.m. before Prime Minister Brown tries rallying beleaguered Labour – has sparked speculation about why she dunnit. Top theories include a rekindling of old fire with Brown stalker Miliband, – and her ultra Catholic faith based ‘difficulty’ with supporting UK government’s Human fertilisation Bill. See Indie article here and the Guardian who report that “Brown will be toast by Christmas”! But TC wonders if secretly, in practice, the big driver for Kelly is seeing that key Labour politicians like former transport Baron Roger Jones – get the boot for supporting a £3 billion scheme to impose the biggest C-Charge zone in the world across Manchester. See how Jones was ousted and LTT report of his bitter whinging at ‘more’ below. Crucially for Kelly if the much hated charging scheme goes ahead her Bolton constituents will have a new road pricing tax to pay if they drive through the glittering array of cordons and charging points proposed for the 80 square mile zone of roads that the public have already paid for…
How Jones was ousted
Press release: MART Defeats long standing Councillor Roger Jones
Manchester Against Road Tolls aka Congestion Charge defeats Irlam Transport Barron and Manchester congestion charge chief Roger Jones.
Jones is trounced into third place behind the anti-congestion charge Community action Party and the Conservative Party. Yesterday’s local election was the first opportunity voters have had to demonstrate their opposition to the hated congestion charge.
MART backed Community Action Party (CAP) secured a victory with 41.2% of the vote up from 32% at the last election.
Full results were:
Cap 1152 – 41.2%
Con 832 – 29.7%
Lab (Jones) 650 – 23.2%
Lib 161 – 5.7%
Back page article: LTT503 19 September – 2 October
Manchester TIF critics ‘have hidden agenda’
One of the architects of Greater Manchester’s £3bn transport investment and associated congestion charging package has accused opponents of having a “hidden agenda” to push for a Greater Manchester-wide elected mayor.
“The key players in the opposition camp all have one thing in common,” says Roger Jones, who was chair of Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority until losing his council seat in Salford earlier this year.
“The ‘No’ campaigners want to win the referendum vote, weaken the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities and then push for an elected mayor for Greater Manchester. They dislike the constraints of local government, they hate the democratic control of councils and they would love to have a system of elected mayors.”
“What better way to undermine the leaders of the ten local authorities than by defeating them on one of the most important issues for the future of the region?” asks Jones. “They could then tell the public that the local authority leaders are weak and cannot deliver on really important issues.”
Jones’ comments were disputed by a spokeswoman for the Greater Manchester Momentum Group, which opposes the charge. “These allegations are wildly inaccurate and unacceptable,” she said. “It is extraordinary to be described as opposing democracy, when one of our key campaign aims was to secure a full public referendum, giving everyone in Greater Manchester a vote on this very important issue.
“We have absolutely no interest in advocating elected mayors, but have consistently maintained our opposition to a scheme which is badly thought out for Greater Manchester in terms of scale, size, employment and commuting patterns.”