Conservative Ministers call for Road Charging to offset "fiscal black hole"

Act now to avoid a £ 35 billion fiscal black hole. That is the statement put out by Conservative MPs after 13 years of running the country’s finances.

The Government Transport Committee, Chaired by Conservative MP Huw Merriman explains “A road pricing system, based on miles traveled and vehicle type, would enable the Government to maintain the existing link between motoring taxation and road usage.”

The committee is urging the Government to act now to replace lost tax revenue with road charging. The report calls for drivers of all vehicles to be charged, including electric vehicles.

In a recent social media post, Conservative MP for Carshalton and Wallington who recently defended his several thousand pounds a year pay rise said on road charging “And the money kept rolling in - your money” surrounded on both sides with a ‘money-mouth face emoji’.

Conservative MP Huw Merriman said, “We need to talk about road pricing. Innovative technology could deliver a national road pricing scheme which prices up a journey based on the amount of road, and type of vehicle used”.

The lost revenue that Conservative ministers are looking to recover through new taxation is less than the amount spent on Test and Trace which lost £37 billion or just under four times the amount the Government spent on PPE contracts to people linked in some way to their own political party through “VIP Fast Stream” services. Schemes that came under intense scrutiny when an ex-local Conservative councillor purchased a £ 1.5 million Cotswolds mansion with 100 acres of land.

The new home of ex local Conservative Councillor Steve Dechan. Purchased for £1.5million after he received £276m in PPE contracts from his own political party.

The call for road charging comes after the Government made TfL contractually obligated to extend the ULEZ and Congestion charge whilst also increasing public transport fares, a policy that features in previous Conservative mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmiths’ election materials.

The Greater London Authority Act 1999 s143 outlines how the Secretary of State can overturn London transport strategy if it is inconsistent with national policies relating to transport and the inconsistency is detrimental to any area outside Greater London, however, they have not used it. By calling for these policies to be included in national policy whilst holding London to ransom with contractual obligations and withdrawing funding, the Conservatives are ensuring that road charging is coming to Sutton.