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Issue of the day: Road transport
Party spokesmen debate their plans for improving Britain's road network.
Labour: Transport secretary Alistair Darling
Good transport is vital to our economy and quality of life. It provides access to jobs, services and schools, gets goods to the shops and allows us to make the most of our free time.
However, transport has suffered from decades of under-investment and we are now having to put this right.
None of these problems can be put right overnight. That’s why Labour’s first commitment has been to earmark a growing volume of resources over a sustained period so that both government and private businesses can plan ahead with confidence.
By 2008 government will be spending 60 per cent more on transport in real terms than in 1997 and it will continue to grow from this higher base by 2.25 per cent a year in real terms each year to 2015.
It is against this background that we've been able to announce major upgrades to our motorway network – M1, M6 and M25 – and to rail, including Crossrail in London, as well as numerous local schemes up and down the country. We’re also looking at the potential for a parallel expressway on the M6 corridor.
But big projects are only part of the solution. We cannot build our way out of congestion: the environmental cost would be unacceptable and ultimately it wouldn't work. So Labour's second commitment is to better management of our transport networks.
That's about the way we build our communities, cutting back on unnecessary travel, a bigger role for walking and cycling, and safer roads. It's about making better use of public transport, in particular school buses and the opportunity for councils to get more control over their buses as part of integrated transport schemes.
And it’s about keeping traffic flowing with, for example, our new traffic officer service on trunk roads and piloted innovations like car pool lanes.
This is a comprehensive programme. It gives us a real chance to build a transport system fit for the 21st century.
Conservatives: Shadow transport secretary Tim Yeo
We will cut congestion on the roads by improving and expanding the network. We will invest in a selective programme of new roads and motorway widening schemes, and attract private sector funding. Where increased capacity and choice are offered, we will introduce road tolls, believing motorists will accept a direct cost for a direct benefit. We will improve the display of information for drivers en route.
We will reduce road deaths by having targeted spending on the most dangerous roads. We will identify and audit our most dangerous roads. Our maintenance programme will be designed to make infrastructure safer. We will ensure speed cameras are only there to save lives, not to raise revenue. We will abolish Labour's bureaucratic Safety Camera Partnerships.
We will support local solutions for reducing traffic and improving safety. We will set up two £70 million funds, a local projects fund to reduce congestion and a 'black spot' fund for smaller scale measures to make roads and crossings safer. We will change planning guidance to reduce dependence on the car, for example by giving a presumption in favour of developing brownfield sites around railway stations.
We will cut taxes and increase grants for cleaner car technology. We will make the least polluting cars cheaper to own, by reducing Vehicle Excise Duty in DVLA Band C from £145 to £135 and Band B from £125 to £110. Band A will come down to £85, AA to just £10 and AAA to nil compared with £65 today.
We will rename VED to make a clearer link between cars and CO2 and introduce colour coded car tax discs, depending on the emissions level. We will double the Powershift and Clean Up programmes for reduced emission vehicles.
Liberal Democrats: Transport spokesman John Thurso
Transport in Great Britain must be sustainable if we are to create a network that provides for the needs of the population, and supports a successful, growing economy. The Liberal Democrats would provide a genuinely integrated network which would place the emphases on affordable, reliable, and safe public transport, whilst allowing us to live within our environmental means.
The Liberal Democrats do not believe it is possible to build our way out of congestion. We would presume against new build for roads unless the cost benefit is overwhelming. Drivers of the least polluting vehicles will benefit from reformed VED by paying less tax, whilst those who drive vehicles with high emissions will pay a little more. Towns and cities with congestion problems will be encouraged to consider congestion charging as a method of tackling gridlock. In the longer term we will scrap VED and fuel duty and replace them with the fairer system of National Road User Charging.
In rural areas we would build quiet lanes to improve safety and encourage walking and cycling. Liberal Democrats favour Home Zones where pedestrians are given priority as we aim to tackle excessive speed and reduce the number of fatalities on our roads.
The Liberal Democrats ambitious vision for rail would provide passengers with a real alternative to the car.
Liberal Democrat transport policy would tackle congestion, reduce pollution, and provide a road and rail network capable of dealing with the demands of twenty first century Britain.
The above texts are edited versions of articles which first appeared in The House Magazine.
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