Full council will today discuss whether to scrap Oxford congestion charge
Leaders of Oxfordshire County Council are being called upon to scrap the £5 congestion charge
Oxfordshire County Council will be meeting today on whether to scrap the £5 congestion charge in Oxford, less than a week after it was implemented.
It will be the first time the full council has discussed the temporary scheme after its Lib Dem Cabinet gave approval in September.
Conservative councillor Liam Walker, Leader of the ‘Oxfordshire Alliance’, proposed the motion against the charge.
The motion being put forward calls for county council leader Liz Leffman and the cabinet to “immediately end the operation” of the scheme.
It also calls to “ensure no further expansion or reintroduction of similar charging schemes without full public consultation and support”.
This will mark the first time all councillors have had an opportunity to debate the plans since the proposal was first announced in June.
Although the congestion charge has been mentioned on numerous occasions in full council meetings.
Councillor Walker said: “Residents, businesses, and key workers have made their views clear — this Lib Dem Congestion Charge is unfair, damaging to our local economy, and adds extra pressure on people already struggling with the cost of living.
“This motion is the opportunity for all county councillors, regardless of political party, to take control of this issue and truly stand up for their residents.
“Now is the time to show leadership, put politics aside, and do what’s right for the people we represent by scrapping this scheme once and for all.”
Leader of the county council Liz Leffman said: “The congestion charge is part of a range of measures to deliver those benefits, and it has already resulted in significant improvements to bus services and three months free bus travel from our Park and Ride sites.
“Further benefits will flow once the scheme is in operation, while safeguarding the interests of, for example, trade vehicles, carers, hospital patients, blue badge holders and others.”
Cabinet Member for Transport, Andrew Gant said: “It is profoundly disappointing and concerning that other political parties have backed away from their former support for these objectives.
“Residents know which party has the consistency and principle to create a better Oxfordshire and a better future: the Liberal Democrats.”
Independent Oxford Alliance councillor David Henwood, who is part of the ‘Oxfordshire Alliance’ said: “I feel strongly that the debate should have happened before – I apologise to the public for that.
“It gives every councillor the opportunity to represent their constituents, and this has not happened yet.”
He added that while the vote would have “no bearing” on what the leader and cabinet decide to do, it would demonstrate “that not all councillors are in favour of this scheme”.
He said: “We are being told by our residents that 74 per cent of Oxford is against this charge.
“I expect 74 per cent of councillors to put their hands up against it.”
Both the Labour group on the county council and the ‘Oxfordshire Alliance’, which consists of Conservative and Independent councillors, have vocally opposed the congestion charge, while the Lib Dems and Greens officially support it.
Each political group will decide whether it will be a free vote, which means councillors will not lose the whip if they do not vote in line with the official stance of the party.
Councillor Henwood said: “I hope the Lib Dems have a free vote, because clearly they are not united in their opinions of the congestion charge.”
Lib Dem councillor Will Boucher-Giles raised concerns about how the congestion charge would affect rural areas with poor public transport links in a scrutiny meeting in August.
Oxford City Council previously passed a motion in July formally opposing the congestion charge.