Express & Star

Poll: Should highway toll charges be abolished?

Ukip campaigners took to the M6 Toll to protest against highway tolls.

Published
The motorway has at times been controversial. UKIP called for the tolls to be scrapped last year

Shropshire and Staffordshire Ukip members congregated at the Mill Lane Bridge, over the M6 Toll at Cheslyn Hay in the West Midlands.

The party's transport spokesman, Jill Seymour MEP, said drivers were already paying more than enough in taxes to deserve free access to the country's road network.

Mrs Seymour, who is up for election for The Wrekin seat in May, said: "Charging to use our busiest motorways or trunk roads is adding insult to injury to the already over-burdened British driver.

"Ukip is opposed to this highway robbery. We want to block the introduction of any new toll roads, and work towards removing existing tolls from publicly owned roads.

"The taxes we already pay as road users should be more than enough to afford the best road network in the world.

"Putting road tolls on top of the fuel tax, excise duty and VAT which we already pay is simply wrong."

Four Ukip prospective parliamentary candidates were at the M6 Toll protest, including Andrew Illsley, who is up for the Stone seat.

He said: "The response we received was once again excellent. We got lots of support from drivers, who were enthusiastically honking their horns to back our campaign."

The M6 Toll was built entirely with private funds and its operators Midland Expressway say it has not cost taxpayers a penny.

The M6 Toll opened in 2003.

An average around 45,000 vehicles use the road, which avoids congestion at the M5 turn-off from the M6, each day.

Chief executive Tom Fanning previously said there was no link between the taxpayer and the toll road.

He said: "Our customers choose to pay to use the road, they do not have to, but they do so because they get a great reliable service which they are willing to pay for."

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