Setback for Tamar Tolls campaign

Campaigners calling for the abolition of the Tamar Tolls have been left disappointed by a half-hearted decision by the committee responsible for the crossings. 

Liberal Democrat Councillors Colin Martin and Hilary Frank brought a motion to Cornwall Council last November calling for a firm commitment to work towards the abolition of the Tamar Tolls.

Such an outcome would only be possible with funding from Central Government, so Cllr Martin says that taking a strong position before the forthcoming General Election is vital: 

“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?”

Council rules required the motion to be referred to the Tamar Tolls and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee, but rather than supporting the motion, committee members voted for a much weaker form of words, merely committing to “meaningfully explore the possibility of toll abolition”.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Martin likened the outcome to a parent whose child has asked to be taken to MacDonalds for dinner: “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?”

For thirteen years, South East Cornwall’s MP Sheryll Murray has opposed the idea of abolishing the tolls, claiming that the Tamar Bridge Act makes it impossible for Government to fund the crossings. But now as the General Election approaches, she has suddenly changed her mind, claiming that abolishing the tolls would be “The greatest thing the government could do for levelling up and boosting the economy in this part of Cornwall.” Unfortunately so far she does not have the support of any other Conservative MP in Cornwall, let alone in Government. Meanwhile Labour’s preferred policy is to rapidly increase tolls for pay-as-you-go users in order to increase them more slowly for tag users. Labour MPs, Councillors and Parliamentary Candidates have been given strict instructions not to campaign for anything which would require funding from Central Government.

Cllr Martin believes that the committee’s decision to kick the proposal into the long-grass was a tactic to avoid uncomfortable votes for Conservative and Labour councillors, “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 Liberal Democrats voted in November to formally adopt a policy of fully funding both crossings from Central Government so that the tolls can be abolished.

To show your support for this policy, you can sign the petition at www.seclibdems.uk/tamar-tolls