Today, as the London congestion charge expands westwards just after it marks its fourth anniversary, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) called on the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and the Government to rethink the existing London charge and any future UK road toll programme.

Any future national toll should penalise only non-essential journeys so that small businesses can survive and continue their huge contribution to the UK economy.  Small businesses employ twelve million people and produce fifty per cent of UK GDP.  Piling an extra cost burden on them is going to hit the economy hard.

 The FSB is also worried that allowing local congestion charging plans would leave a patchwork system across the country, reducing business competitiveness in certain areas where charging applied.

David Dexter, FSB Lincolnshire Region Chairman, said:  “Congestion charging is a misnomer.  It is a road use tax.  Congestion in London is no better now than it was before the charge was introduced.”

“Many people now shop outside the zone so that they can load their cars with shopping without paying an extra eight pounds – shops inside the zone are hit hard.  Other FSB members making deliveries and tradesmen going to people’s homes in the congestion charge zone are finding it hard to cover their costs.  With the westward expansion that is now getting worse.” 

“If this is a test case for UK-wide road charging then the one million plus people that have signed the anti-road tolls petition are absolutely right.  The London congestion charge is a blunt instrument designed only to fleece drivers.  Any national scheme must be much more intelligent in its design and it must not penalise businesses in their essential use of the roads.”