Labour's 13-year war on the motorist is over: Tories pledge to halt rise of speed cameras, road pricing and cowboy clampers

Philip Hammond arrives at No.10 Downing Street

Philip Hammond arrives at No.10 Downing Street to be given his portfolio

The war on the motorist is over, the Transport Secretary said yesterday on his first day in the job.

Philip Hammond promised to end the way the country's 33million drivers have been targeted by an array of speed cameras and cowboy clampers.

He also pledged to 'sweat the assets' of the road, rail and aviation infrastructure to get value for money for taxpayers.

The secretary of state pledged to scrap public funding for speed cameras and said he would consult on a plan to curb pump prices when oil prices soar

Mr Hammond promised: 'We will end the war on motorists. Motoring has got to get greener, but the car is not going to go away.'

The Tory Cabinet minister stressed the coalition government would abide by a Tory manifesto promise not to fund any more fixed-position speed cameras.

Councils could fund them if they had the money and could justify their use - but the money raised would go to the Treasury, he said.

He ruled out 'pay as you drive' charging for existing roads for the duration of the Parliament.

And there are no plans to charge for the use of the hard shoulder or additional lanes built to existing roads.

But Mr Hammond did back road tolls to pay for new roads - such as has already happened with the M6.

He is also exploring electronic pay-as-you-drive charges for lorries - to ensure that foreign freight firms do not dodge the charges levied on UK companies. 

A similar system already operates in Germany: 'We will look at lorry user charging', he said.

He confirmed there would  be consultation on a 'fair fuel stabiliser' which could ensure that fuel duty is reduced when world oil prices rise.

But Mr Hammond, who drives a Jaguar, did back road-tolls to pay for brand new additional roads - such as has already happened with the successful M6 Toll: 'New road capacity is a different issue' he said.

Mr Hammond also vowed to scrap Labour's air passenger duty in favour of a green tax which charges by the plane rather than by the passenger.

He added: 'We are going to have to look at new and innovative ways of funding capital expenditure. The era of easy public money is over.'

Philip Hammond has pledged to axe taxpayer funding of speed cameras

Philip Hammond has pledged to axe taxpayer funding of speed cameras

Labour too had pledged to scrap APD  - but instead retained and then actually increased the controversial duty.

In March Labour Chancellor Alistair Darling  confirmed rises in APD which would see  the air tax for a family of four travelling long-haul economy soar from £220 to £340.

Individual tax rises from £55 to £85. In 2008 long haul  passengers paid a flat-rate £40 tax. A family of four travelling long-haul in premium economy, business or first class will see their tax rise from £440 to £680. Individual tax rises from £110 to £170.

In a bizarre anomaly, British fliers to the Caribbean pay more than people flying to far flung parts of the United States - such as San Francisco or Hawaii -  thousands of miles further away from Britain.

Mr Hammond said the Government backed the £16 billion cross-London Crossrail scheme it had to demonstrate 'value for money'.

He did not think it would be difficult to get private funding for the line.

But he stressed: 'Over the coming years we are going to have to learn to do things differently.

'As far as transport in concerned we are going to have to sweat the assets that we have much better.

'We are going to have to look at new and innovative ways of funding capital expenditure. The era of easy public money is over.'

In Opposition Mr Hammond had been shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, but that post has gone to Liberal Democrat David Laws who he said would make an 'excellent' chief secretary.

AA president Edmund King wished  Mr Hammond well but said he needed to stay longer in his new post than the 'merry-go-round' 13 predecessors, who averaged only 20 months.

The new coalition government has also ruled out a third runway at Heathrow airport and committed itself to a new high-speed rail line to begin work in 2015.


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