John McGoldrick of the National Alliance Against Tolls blasts Mersey Gateway toll proposals

Jul 2 2009 by Mark Smith, Runcorn and Widnes Weekly News

A CAMPAIGNER fighting tolls on the Mersey Gateway bridges claims road charging is little more than a ‘regressive tax’.

Speaking in the closing statement for the National Alliance Against Tolls, spokesman John McGoldrick said the act of tolling the Silver Jubilee Bridge would be an unprecedented step.

He also cast doubt on the council’s financial figures and employment projections.

He said: “This would be the first ever imposition of a toll on the users of a free bridge, and Halton would be the first place in Britain, where you have to pay a toll tax to move from one side of a local authority to the other.

“At the start of this inquiry I gave a brief background to our alliance and the reasons why we generally opposed tolls.

“I said that tolls had been around long enough to be described as ‘evil’ in Magna Carta.

“I also said tolls are a regressive tax which takes no account of the ability to pay or the size of a car.”

He said: “The council have made various claims about how this scheme will boost the economy, including the assertion that it will ‘mean an estimated 4,640 new jobs’.

“They have supported this claim with obscure analyses, though the figures vary according to where you look.”

He added: “There were almost no financial figures in the council’s evidence.

“The council said that this was because the figures were confidential.

“This means that people are being asked to support something without being told what the price ticket is.”

On toll discounts, he added: “Under Private Finance, it is the private operator which will control both the new bridge and the existing bridge and the level of tolls will largely depend on what can be agreed with them.”