Londoners not benefitting from vital cash says Green Mayor Candidate
Green Mayoral Candidate Sian Berry has made an urgent plea to the Transport Secretary to allow TfL to retain Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) raised in the capital to stabilise its finances, decimated by the pandemic.
The Green Party joined other London Assembly political groups in signing a letter to Grant Shapps protesting that “London has not received any of the £500 million of VED collected in London”.
Instead, it had been spent on roads in other parts of the country, while expenditure on roads in the capital has to be paid for from TfL’s other sources of income.
The signatories highlight “extensive cross-party support for London retaining its share of VED revenue” which was backed by all three London Mayors, including current the PM, Boris Johnson.
“The impact of the pandemic on TfL makes this extremely urgent,” the letter says, stressing the devastating effect of the pandemic on fares revenue, which TfL has become increasingly dependent on in recent years as government grants have been reduced.
Sian Berry has warned that maintaining a stable TfL is essential for building back London’s economy better and greener as she set out last week in her vision for a Different Economy for London.