Why roads policy is left on the hard shoulder

At the end of last year, the people of Greater Manchester overwhelmingly rejected plans for a road congestion charging scheme. Just over a million voted in a referendum and almost four in every five were against the plan, even though it would have levered a £2.8 billion package of metropolis-wide transport improvements.

They shunned a remedy for Britain’s remorseless growth in road traffic and the accompanying environmental damage which has long appeared obvious to those engaged in transport and environment policy.