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Congestion Charging

from Cathy (cathyvpreece@aol.com)

Tory stunt will add to first-day confusion

Andrew Clark, Transport Correspondent
Wednesday February 12 2003

The Guardian

The Conservatives intend to demonstrate against the London congestion charge at every main entry point on Monday in an attempt to whip up antagonism towards the mayor, Ken Livingstone.

An internal email seen by the Guardian reveals that the party intends to use the event to promote its mayoral candidate, who will be named on Sunday after a run-off between the former minister Steve Norris and a rightwinger, Roger Evans.

The message sent to activists in Camden, north London, says: "Conservatives will be taking part in demonstrations against the charge at all key entry points to the zone."

It continues: "This will take place the day after our London mayoral candidate is selected and he will be visiting several of the demonstrations to show his support."

It calls the introduction of the £5-a-day fee for drivers a "golden opportunity" to "get a few quotes in the papers".

The 30,000 party members in London vote this weekend for a candidate. Mr Norris, the clear favourite, is accused of hypocrisy because he was an early backer of urban congestion charging when he was a transport minister in the 90s.

Monday morning's rush-hour will be enlivened by a series of stunts. Motorists are planning a demonstration in Kennington which will culminate in the world's fastest window cleaner, Terry Burrows, riding into London on a horse and cart singing a specially written abusive song about the mayor.

Cyclists and pedestrians supporting the scheme plan to gather on the boundary in Islington to toast its success in champagne.

Mr Livingstone admitted yesterday that Monday was likely to be a "bloody day" as drivers struggled to get used to the charge.

He urged them not to leave it until the day to pay, warning that the call centres might be jammed. "There is a possibility that if people leave it to the last minute they might not get through," he said.

By last night 11,242 people had paid the first day's charge in advance. More than 100,000 a day are expected to be liable for the charge. Only 16,711 of the 40,000 car owners in the central zone have registered for the 90% residents' discount.

The RAC Foundation urged people hoping to skirt the zone to plan their routes in advance: at any one time an estimated 8% of motorists in the capital were lost, its executive director, Edmund King, said. "There could be severe road safety implications if we get thousands of lost motorists driving up dead ends."

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited

http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,3605,894255,00.html

(posted 7715 days ago)

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