A FAIR DEAL FOR THE MOTORIST

“NO KHAN DO” - IT’S HIGHWAY ROBBERY! A Summary

In 2016 Sadiq Khan was elected Mayor of London on a bland manifesto pledging to “Maintain the Congestion Charge at its current level” and tackle congestion through harmless-sounding measures like encouraging car clubs and managing road works.

He would not have got elected if it had come out with aggressive anti-motorist proposals like those in his draft Mayor’s Transport Strategy.

· THE THREAT OF EXTENDING THE ‘KHANGESTION CHARGE’ AND EVEN MORE ANTI-MOTORIST MEASURES.

· In the UK, motorists pay approximately 4-5 times over for the use of the road. Yet Mayor Khan bizarrely perceives that London’s ‘pay too little’ and are even subsidised by public transport users! No figures are given to support this.

· He seeks “new ways of paying for road use”, hinting at a pay-as-you-go ‘road user charging system’. He wants to take over collection of VED (‘road tax’) and set the rate. He wants to discourage car ownership and slash car use. Taxation will be one of his many weapons.

· London boroughs will be obliged to support the Mayor’s Transport Strategy, with its aim of pushing motorists out of their cars and forcing them to walk, cycle, use public transport – or not travel at all. Boroughs will have to consider ‘road user charging’ (read ‘road pricing’, effectively extending the Congestion Charge) and/or ‘Workplace Parking Levies’ – effectively a tax on going to work.

Don’t be soft-soaped by words like ‘consider’ – if there is absolutely no desire to push ahead with such proposals, then why are they there? Remember that Ken Livingstone was elected on a manifesto only to “consult” over charging, and we know what happened…

Khan already has the power to extend the Congestion Charge London-wide. Once the Mayor’s Transport Strategy has been updated, he can claim that this has been agreed in principle – and make everybody fall in line! This is why publicity and objections now are important.

· Khan has already been accused of breaking promises and faces a gap in funding while money earmarked for London’s roads is wasted!

· Overall, his proposals show an unhealthy prejudice against cars, but their ‘logic’ is easily exposed. He fails to offer alternatives that do not bash the motorist.

· He proposes reallocating road space away from motorists, car-free days and street closures, one-off and even regular. He pushes ‘car-free’ and ‘car-lite’ housing developments where parking a car becomes more difficult or impossible. He hints at car parking at stations being made less convenient or even spaces being removed.

· He also wants a reduction in the availability of private parking and discriminatory parking charges against some vehicles. This is simply daft, as any vehicle parked with its engine turned off will not have any emissions!

· For more information and references, see our main page.

There has been a lack of proper publicity for the controversial proposals and even that this crucially important consultation is taking place. Does Mayor Khan have something to hide?

The Mayor and his PC crew are counting on you doing nothing and just paying up!

Please object a.s.a.p. and get your friends to do the same.

CLICK FOR HOW TO OBJECT

MANY THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT

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