Friday 12 December 2008

Voters vote 'No' on Manchester congestion fare

At noon today at the Manchester Central conference centre, returning officer Sir Neil McIntosh announced that the majority of voters had voted against the introduction of the congestion charge. Across the 10 regions of Greater Manchester, 1.94 million ballot packs have been sent out over the last 2 weeks. By 10pm last night 1,030,000 residents (53.2% of the electorate) turned out to vote. The scheme needed at least 7 boroughs to vote in favour of the scheme for it go-ahead, but as the following breakdown suggests (see the Middleton Guardian), this didn’t happen:

Borough

Yes Vote

No Vote

Rejected

Overall Outcome

Majority

Manchester

43,593

113,064

250

NO

69,471

Rochdale

17,333

61,686

118

NO

44,353

Bolton

20,529

76,910

167

NO

56,381

Bury

16,563

64,001

94

NO

47,438

Oldham

17,571

68,884

141

NO

51,313

Salford

14,603

79,326

105

NO

64,723

Stockport

24,090

103,706

169

NO

79,616

Tameside

16,323

83,105

124

NO

66,782

Trafford

20,445

83,568

142

NO

63,123

Wigan

27,810

78,565

132

NO

50,755

TOTAL

218,860

812,815

1,442

NO

593,955

The Times suggests that voters were not persuaded by the £1.5 billion Government funding for public transport, despite the fact that it would have created 10,000 extra jobs due to the construction of new tram lines and improved trains and buses. Many questioned the timing of the referendum, which would have seen drivers paying £5 a day (up to £1,200 a year) to get in and out of Manchester (here is a map of the proposed outer and inner rings), due to the current economic climate and the belief that building more roads is not financially possible or environmentally acceptable.

It appears that the vote was decided by whether you drove into Manchester, or took public transport into Manchester. Those who take public transport are more likely to vote in favour of additional public transport, as it would be more beneficial to them and across a year they wouldn’t pay as much as drivers. However, those who drive into Manchester would vote against it, as they would inevitably have to pay up to £5 a day just to go to work, a possible £1,200 a year, which for someone with a basic salary could be quite a financial burden. Similarly, those travelling from the most furthest out boroughs in Greater Manchester would prefer to drive over public transport, as it is a lot quicker.

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