The London Assembly (yes, the lot who sit around all day twiddling their thumbs if Ken is to be believed) have rejected the motion put forward by the 'politcial group' One London to suspend the Congestion Charge in the run up to Christmas.
According to One London's press release:
The proposal was supported by Assembly Tories, but opposed by an alliance of Labour, LibDem and Green members. The vote was tied, with the LibDem Chair using her casting vote against it.
One London's rationale is that the capital's businesses are already suffering a 'severe downturn' and a supension of the C-Charge would allow them to recoup some of their losses. This, according to One London's Damian Hockney, is a better idea than "pointless street festivals" (by which he must mean the Celebrate Oxford Street event which happened earlier this month).
Of course this time last year Ken announced a festive suspension of the C Charge, saying:
The suspension of the congestion charge, coupled with the post-Christmas sales, will benefit visitors and businesses over the period.
I promised in my manifesto to suspend the charge between Christmas and the New Year, and having listened to the views of Londoners and businesses, I can now confirm that this will happen.
So it's not going to become a tradition then?
And in related news, Ken wants to intrioduce a new 'zone' to London: a Low Emission Zone that will "reduce the emissions from London’s taxis, by up to 37% by July 2008". More details on the TfL site.
