Plans to introduce congestion charging in Manchester are in disarray after the policy's strongest supporter lost his seat in last Thursday's (May 1) council elections to an anti-charging candidate.
Roger Jones, the Labour chairman of the Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Authority, was pushed into third place in Salford. His seat was won by the Community Action Party, which ran a campaign based on opposition to the £5 daily peak period congestion charge proposed by Mr Jones.
With the Conservatives coming second in what was a safe Labour seat, the result will make other councillors cautious about supporting congestion charging.
The Government has been hoping that Manchester and Cambridge would be the next two major UK cities to introduce widespread congestion charging after London.
Manchester Against Road Tolls, which campaigned for CAP, said: "This result proves beyond doubt that the congestion charge is a cast-iron vote loser." (The Times: May 6).
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