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Anti-road tax protestors gather in Manchester

25/06/2007

Plans to charge drivers wishing to use the conurbation's busiest roads met with protests on Saturday in the centre of Manchester.

Campaign group Manchester Against Road Tolls organised the demonstration in response to the Association of Greater Manchester Authorities' (Agma) proposal to roll out a congestion charge by 2012.

According to the plans, peak-time drivers will pay £2 to enter the outer ring of the city and £1 to enter the city centre. Another £1 would be paid when leaving each of the zones.

Peter Roberts, the man behind the 1.8 million signatures on the recent national anti road-pricing petition, used the protest to launch the ManchesterTollTax.com petition.

"Now is the time for the people of Manchester to start the fight back against these toll plans which will destroy jobs and put the city at a major economic disadvantage," he said.

"Transport planners have hatched a scheme to isolate Manchester with a version of the Berlin Wall, an electronic barrier called the M60 motorway – an astonishing own goal for a great city."

Agma has always maintained that the problem of congestion needs to be tackled sooner rather than later if Greater Manchester wants to narrow the gap with London and stimulate employment growth.

Manchester was also the scene of a Stop the War Coalition protest, which took place on Sunday.

The demonstration, which was planned to coincide with a special Labour Party leadership conference in the Bridgewater Hall, passed off peacefully, with only two arrests, according to police.




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