Campaigners who want to stop the Tamar Bridge tolls are not happy with a decision they say “isn’t strong enough”. The people fighting to get rid of the Tamar Tolls in Cornwall and Plymouth say they feel let down after Rishi Sunak would not be pressed on scrapping the fees.
Colin Martin, who wants to be the Liberal Democrat candidate for South East Cornwall, and Councillor Hilary Frank from the Lib Dems asked Cornwall Council last November to try and abolish the hated Tamar Tolls. Drivers currently have to pay £2.60 per journey if they are in a car, or £6.30 if they’re in a HGV.
New plans which surfaced earlier this year suggest the local councils want to raise the levy by an additional 40p per journey, enraging locals who need to use it for work and other commitments.
This would take the price up to £3 per crossing for those who haven’t signed up to the Tamar Tag, a scheme for regular users who can access the bridge at a discounted rate. Those on-board with this scheme will be forced to pay £1.50 per trip.
People have long been arguing about who should pay for the bridges – the people who use them or the Government. This has been a big problem for Cornwall and Plymouth.
Some people say it’s not fair for those who need to go to Derriford Hospital or work in Devon to pay the toll. Last July, lots of protesters walked across the Tamar Bridge to show how important this is.
Cllrs Martin and Frank said: “We need every councillor from every party in Cornwall and Plymouth to stand together in calling for Central Government to fund the crossings.
“This would force Parliamentary candidates to pick a side in the debate: Will they do what’s right for Cornwall and Plymouth, or will they follow orders from party HQ? “, reports CornwallLive.
Mr Martin said that the council’s rules meant they had to talk about the motion with the Tamar Tolls and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee. But instead of backing the motion, the committee chose weaker words. They only agreed to “meaningfully explore the possibility of toll abolition”.
After the meeting, Cllr Martin compared the decision to a parent responding to their child’s request for a McDonald’s dinner by saying: “If I told my child that I will ‘meaningfully explore the possibility’, would you think I was serious about that outcome, or simply trying to keep them quiet? “.
He also mentioned that Sheryll Murray, the MP for South East Cornwall, has been against getting rid of the tolls for 13 years. She said the Tamar Bridge Act means the Government can’t pay for the crossings.
But now, with the General Election coming up, she says that “removing the tolls would be, in my opinion, the greatest thing the government could do for levelling up and boosting the economy in this part of Cornwall.”
He said that no other Conservative MP in Cornwall agrees with his view, and Labour wants to make it cheaper for locals but more expensive for others.
Cllr Martin thinks the committee is just trying to avoid making tough choices before the election. He said: “This is a political stitch-up: Labour and Conservative MPs and Parliamentary Candidates across Cornwall and Plymouth obviously don’t think they can persuade their party leaders to fund the crossings, so they don’t want Councillors to have the chance to vote for that policy before the General Election.”
The Lib Dems, on the other hand, want the government to pay for the bridges so there won’t be any tolls.
