02/06/2002
Alistair Darling has been appointed as the new Transport Secretary following Stephen Byers resignation.
In an interview with the Financial Times this week he said he would consider plans to get tough with motorists in a bid to cut traffic congestion but he intends to reject plans for a network of toll motorways
He told the Financial Times that
"It's simply not possible to have more and more traffic on streets designed hundreds of years ago for horses and carts. "People say you must be anti-car then. That's nonsense. I drive a car. "We shouldn't be stopping people from doing what they want to, but all car drivers accept there has to be some constraint simply because we can't all drive down one road at the same time."
He said: "The reality is that cars will remain the mode of travel for most journeys for the foreseeable future. "It would be a fundamental mistake to ignore the fact that 80% of journeys taken every day are taken by people in their cars. "That has got to be reflected in a realistic 10-year plan. "I am not in the business of punishing people because they choose to use their car."
Transport Secretary Stephen Byers quit his job on Tuesday, 28 May, 2002, saying it was
"the right thing to do for the Labour Party and the government".
Mr Byers has been under fire for months, initially for standing by spin doctor Jo Moore after she sent an email on 11 September saying it was a good day "to bury" bad news.
For the full story click on the FT links
Alistair Darling was the in the Opposition Home Affairs Team from 1988-92; Opposition Spokesman on the City and Financial Services 1992 - July 1996; Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury from July 1996 - April 1997; Secretary of State for Social Security July 1998- June 2001; Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 2001-May 2002.
See previous story about Road Tolls
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