Last week, local Labour Councillors and the Labour Leadership at Bradford Council blocked a move to scrap their ill-thought through Clean Air Zone tax. In doing so, they have shut down what could be the last chance to stop this unfair tax hitting hard-working people right across our area.
Whilst this was only last week, these plans have been around since 2018 after air pollution levels across Bradford were deemed to be illegal. After being issued a ministerial direction to clean up our air, Bradford Council’s Labour leadership decided the best way to tackle the challenge was to impose a Clean Air Zone tax on particular vehicles. This plan amounts to nothing but a targeted tax on a select group of hard-working people, who are set to incur huge charges whilst simply going about their business. What’s more, these plans in my view will do very little to actually improve the environment.
Labour-run Bradford Council want to charge up to ÂŁ7 a day on certain Taxis, ÂŁ9 a day on select Minibuses and LGVs and up to a staggering ÂŁ50 a day for HGVs, Buses and Coaches each time they enter a designated zone across Bradford City Centre and Shipley. Whilst private vehicles are exempt, vehicles which people need to use to perform important jobs have been selected by the Council for this tax.
It will undoubtedly have a huge detrimental impact on these people. For so many individuals, the pandemic has caused unprecedented financial losses as business has disappeared. Just as we get back to normal, and businesses are finally able to stand on their own two feet, Bradford Council are hitting them with their unfair tax. This will create extreme financial hardship, particularly for small businesses. There is a serious worry that as businesses try to cope with these additional overheads, the financial strain will become all too much and jobs may be lost. What’s more, those who rely on these services will face a rise in costs to cover for this tax.
Listening to Bradford Council’s endless excuses for this plan has been so frustrating. They blame the government, yet this has been a self-made decision by the Council which dates back several years. Only last week, in the House of Commons Chamber, the Prime Minister referred to a plan like this as completely “thoughtless”. This month, the Government made an extra £42 million available for local councils to pursue alternative routes to improve air quality, and this is on top of the £39.3 million already given to Bradford Council to help tackle this issue. In defending their tax, Bradford Council say there is strong public support for this, claiming 67% of people see improving air quality as a priority. Yes, a lot of us do; myself included. Yet improving air quality does not have to translate to an unfair tax on hard-working people. When the Council say the plan will reduce emissions, they are ignoring the inevitable fact that congestion will only increase outside of this Clean Air Zone, as businesses send drivers on longer routes to avoid charges.
The rollout of this scheme has been almost as farcical as the policy itself. Whilst it was meant to be introduced back in January, before the New Year it was announced it would be pushed back to this spring. One of the reasons given was that Bradford Council did not have the facilities available to implement their own scheme. There was also an acknowledgement that too many vehicles would be unable to comply with these regulations, meaning too many people would be affected by these costs. Whilst the Council have argued they have made help available for owners to upgrade vehicles, it has been made clear to them that this help does not go far enough.
Across the Pennines in Manchester, Mayor Andy Burnham introduced plans very similar to what we have seen in Bradford. This plan has been postponed and is now under review. Bradford Council must swallow their pride and scrap the whole thing, and seek a better non-taxing alternative.
There is another way. As I have said, the Government have made initial funding available to local councils to come up with plans to lower emissions without having to punish people for simply doing their jobs.
We cannot deny that change is needed to protect the environment. But a plan which will do little more than target hard working people is not the answer. I am calling on Bradford Council to scrap the Clean Air Zone tax.
