A CAZ For Another Day
Do not be fooled by the words of a career politician. Mayor Andy Burnham told us a few weeks ago that no charging schemes will be implemented in Greater Manchester under his leadership. Great news. Well done Andy – a man of the people.
The CAZ (Clean Air Zone) he recently cancelled was nearly all his idea in the first place. He wanted it in the region, he decided it should cover all 10 local council areas, and he decided it should be a charging scheme. On the flip side, he did decide to cancel it, but only after he saw the outrage online and the potential loss of votes. He is a little like a burglar who breaks into your house and decides not to steal your TV because it is too big to carry. Gratitude is not due.
We may have a respite from the implementation of the CAZ, but this scheme has not gone away or been terminated. It is still lurking in the background ready for a relaunch under a new Mayor with the support of a Labour government. Burnham's promise only covered a mayoralty under his leadership – not what comes after. We have no idea what will come after him. He may not even run again to be Mayor – he hears Parliament calling his name. The rumours are that he intends to stand as an MP at the next general election.
A charging scheme could start the day after tomorrow in Greater Manchester if the political will was there. The full infrastructure is already in place and is up and running. The contracts have been signed to run the project. The funding is in place. Do not be complacent that we have won the war, we have not. We only won a battle, more fighting is yet to come if you wish to keep your car.
If I am elected Mayor in May 2024, I have already stated I will cancel the CAZ. But this promise now seems immaterial because we have been told that this project will not begin. Allow me to go one step further, I will ensure that this project can never begin using the infrastructure now in place. Therefore, I will be removing the cameras and cancelling the contracts.
How foolish would I look if I left everything in place only for the next Mayor to flick a switch and start charging everyone to drive? I say NO to 15-minute cities, pay per mile, and congestion charges. These are all real threats to our freedom and democracy if Labour gets into power next year. They will remain threats even if the Tories somehow retain power at the next general election for they have fallen for the eco-green lunacy. Only an independent Mayor will have the backbone to do what needs to be done. I hope I am that person for power corrupts – only time will tell.
Robbing drivers to pay for political pet projects is not the only weapon in this war, motorists are under constant attack from many sides. We need to counterattack before it is too late. This is the lesson we should learn from the CAZ saga. We cannot wait until anti-driving policies are being implemented before we act. We have to nip them in the bud to ensure they never become policy in the first place. Prevention is better than cure.
To facilitate this aim, I will appoint a Motoring Tsar for Greater Manchester to be the voice of the motorists and fight their corner in all policy decisions. They will have a remit to expose and highlight all anti-driving schemes, projects, decisions, and aims. A democracy only works for the benefit of the people when the free flow of governmental information is not hampered. I will be open and honest with the people – it will be a novel experiment as politicians usually treat us like mushrooms.
I grew up without a car in my household and had to wait until I was 21 years old until I could afford my own vehicle. Owning a car is a luxury that has become a necessity. Private transport allowed the working class to travel to secure better jobs, organise family days out, see relatives more easily, and visit places where the government thought we did not want to visit. It gave us all freedom.
Of course, it also gave us some new problems. Road deaths. Car accidents. Pollution. Financial costs. Dangerous driving. It is obvious to most people that the positive gains from the motor vehicle far outweigh the downsides. The job at hand is to mitigate against the problems, not to eradicate the cause of the problems. A kitchen knife can be used to stab someone to death, the solution to knife crime is not to only use a spoon to carve your roast chicken.
We have a choice in May 2024. It is a simple choice. More of the same in terms of attacking car use or do we elect someone who is pro-car for the many? It is hypocritical of all these eco-green politicians to clamp down on our cars while at the same time never giving up their cars. It seems that some people are more equal than others.
Vote to keep your freedom of movement. You will need it one day.
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