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Road Pricing

Sir Nicholas, as may have become clear as a result of the time that elapsed between the hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody) sitting down and the next Member rising, I had not intended to intervene. I am attending the debate because I have a historic interest in it. A long time ago, when I was Secretary of State for Transport, it was an issue with which we had to grapple. I am slightly disappointed that so little progress appears to have been made since 1996, when a White Paper set out the broad approach of the previous Administration to road pricing. I am speaking from memory, because I have not come equipped with the relevant documents, but I recollect that subject to satisfactory trials of the technology at the Transport and Road Research Laboratory, and subject to getting the requisite legislation through the House of Commons, the previous Administration were broadly committed to the concept of road pricing. Again from memory, I think that we gave an illustrative price of 1p per mile on motorways as a means of starting the debate. I find it disappointing that little appears to have happened since then. We have received several statements from the Secretary of State, one of which was almost identical to one made by Lord MacGregor when he was Secretary of State for Transport in 1992. There seems not to have been an heroic initiative from the new Administration. My brief speech is intended to give the Government some political cover, if they want it. I have no idea what my hon. Friend the Member for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr. Hayes) is about to say on behalf of my great party, and perhaps there will not be an absolute convergence between my approach and that of my party's Front Bench. However, for the strategic reason given by the right hon. Member for Crewe and Nantwich (Mrs. Dunwoody)—