Congestion charge to get the green light in Manchester

Under the planned scheme, drivers would be required to pay up to £5 to enter the city centre at busy times.

The proposal, which would make Manchester the first provincial city to follow London in introducing a congestion charge, will also include millions of pounds of Government support for public transport to enhance bus and tram services.

Congestion charge: Is set to be rolled out in Manchester

It is expected that Transport Minister Rosie Winterton will give the scheme the green light in a statement to Parliament.

Yesterday, a Labour MP warned that the plans would undermine the party's support in the area.

Manchester Blackley's Labour MP Graham Stringer predicted a backlash at the polls from disgruntled motorists in marginal seats on the fringes of the conurbation.

He told BBC1's The Politics Show: 'To have a Labour Government, you have to have an alliance not only of core Labour voters but of people who before 1997 in constituencies like Bury North and Bolton West didn't vote Labour.

'The congestion tax is another pressure on that coalition. It is another wedge that will break that coalition up and make it much more difficult to deliver a Labour Government.'

The Conservative leader of Trafford Council Susan Williams, who is hoping to unseat Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly from the marginal Bolton West seat in the upcoming General Election, said the scheme was 'political suicide' for Labour.

'To bring in the congestion charge at a time when the roads of Greater Manchester and the country have been blockaded by truck drivers and motorcyclists protesting about taxes on the motorist seems to be an act of political suicide,' Cllr Williams told the programme.

But Sir Richard Leese, the leader of Manchester City Council, said: 'My belief is that if the politicians of Greater Manchester have the strength and confidence to do what is very clearly in the long-term interests of this conurbation and all its people, we won't be punished at the ballot box, we will be rewarded for that strength of purpose.'

And Manchester Central MP Tony Lloyd said that congestion on the roads was causing health and environmental problems and could cost the area 30,000 jobs over the coming decade if it is allowed to continue unabated.

The charge would only be payable in specific areas at particularly busy times of the day and is expected to affect only 20 per cent of Greater Manchester's motorists, he said.

'The real tax is the tax that congestion imposes and we can't simply say we are not going to do anything about that,' he said.

'The overwhelming majority of people will benefit from investment in public transport and and limitation of the real damage that congestion does in a conurbation like Greater Manchester.'

The Department of Transport confirmed that a decision on the Greater Manchester bid was expected 'shortly' but declined to say whether it would be approved.

A spokesman said: 'Congestion is bad for businesses and people's quality of life.

'We are making £200 million a year available through the Transport Innovation Fund for councils who want to tackle local congestion by making improvements to public transport as well as managing the demands on their roads.

'Greater Manchester has submitted a bid for this fund, which we will announce a decision on shortly. This decision will be communicated to Parliament first.'