"MAYOR LISTENS TO LIB DEMS AS LONDON'S TOP POLLUTERS PAY TREBLE CONGESTION CHARGE" - POPE
8.00.39pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 12th Jul 2006
The London Assembly Liberal Democrats have today welcomed the announcement by Ken Livingstone that the Congestion Charge is set to increase to up to £25 for London's most polluting vehicles by 2008.
The new scheme will be based on Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) road tax bands, with cars in band A staying at the current rate of congestion charge and cars in band G (such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee) facing up to £25 congestion charge.
The Liberal Democrats have been calling for a rise in congestion charge for polluting cars, such as sports utilities vehicles (SUVs) since 2004.
Commenting on the announcement, Liberal Democrat Transport spokesman in the London Assembly, Geoff Pope, said:
"The Liberal Democrats have been calling for a doubling in the congestion charge for polluting cars for the last 2 years. The Mayor has listened to us and at last found a way to take our proposals forward.
'It is right that the polluter should pay. This is not a tax grab, it is about saving the planet. The sooner this can apply to the whole of London, the better.
'The Mayor should now press central government to hit highly polluting vehicles with swingeing road taxes not just in London but across the rest of the UK." ENDS
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