If the press reports are correct, tomorrow the Transport Secretary (and Bolton MP) Ruth Kelly will announce that Greater Manchester will be allowed to borrow a huge sum of money to invest in local public transport – on the strict condition that the money is repaid via the introduction of a congestion charge.
Now of course things are never this black-and-white, but I suspect that are three broad strands of public opinion on the TIF congestion charge proposals:
- Those who support congestion charging in principle (a small group)
- Those for whom congestion charging will never wash regardless of the deal on the table (a larger group)
- Those who will look at the deal on the table and make their made up (the largest group)
Now we will hopefully see the final details tomorrow (although David Ottewell isn’t so sure we will get the whole truth and nothing but the truth) but for local residents in Salford who fall into the third group – from Kersal to Cadishead and Langworthy to Little Hulton – the decision is likely to be a complete no-brainer.
Salford residents will feel the full force of the costs of the TIF scheme – a £5 a day tax on commuting if implemented at today’s prices and likely to rise through the roof once rising costs are taken into account – and will have a multi-billion pound debt hanging over their heads for the next three decades at least.
However, if the draft plans are anything to go by, the benefits are few and far between no matter where in Salford you reside. No improvements to local rail services serving Swinton, Walkden, Eccles and Irlam. A vague promise of more bus – but no powers for GMPTE to control where those buses go. The Leigh Guided Busway which will increase congestion but will not provide any local communities in Salford with an improved service.
Our Labour Government and Labour Council are asking us as local residents to back a scheme with a huge cost and few discernable benefits. We will not be fooled by Labour’s TIF pyramid scheme.
Salford Post Office Closures
So, if the press leak is accurate, the official announcement on Tuesday of the next stage of Post Office “reform” will see the Labour Government proposing the closure of three Post Offices in Salford:
The Government report says that “deprived areas will be safeguarded against closures”, but it is easy to see from the list above that this is nothing more than spin. None of the three Post Offices facing the axe in Salford could possibly be described as being in affluent suburbia. Indeed, the Langworthy Road Post Office is at the heart of a key regeneration area.
I do not support the Government’s proposals to axe these Post Offices and I know that Conservatives both here in Salford and in Westminster are committing to protecting the services that local Post Offices provide for their communities. Indeed the Conservative Post Office Action Plan is worth reprinting in full:
Freeing up Sub-Postmasters – We will rewrite Sub-Postmasters’ contracts, allowing them to provide a greater range of products and services, including private mail services.
Using Post Offices as Government GP service – We will investigate a scheme whereby people who have concerns about a range of Government services, such as tax returns and pension entitlements, can use their local Post Office as a kind of ‘Government GP’.
Campaigning on the Post Office Card Account – This scheme is hugely important to those people who do not have bank accounts and around one million of our most vulnerable people cannot get a bank account.
Encouraging ‘Council Counters’ – We will encourage local councils to see what services they could provide though Post Offices and whether they could use the Post Office network in their area to better engage with local residents.
I firmly believe that genuine support from both Government and local Councils will render these damaging closures entirely unnecessary.