Parking Charges : Barnets Tories exposed as Unconservative !

There is a rather interesting article in todays Daily Express where Tory Local Government Chief Caroline Spelman hit out at Council Chiefs and pledged to  "Stop families and local shops being hit with aggressive parking fines, unfair parking charges and cuts to the number of peak parking spaces". Ms Spelman went on to say :-

Stressed out drivers now have to run a guantlet of unfair parking fines, soaring parking charges and a lack of parking spaces

Ms Spelman continued

Conservatives will call off Labours war on the motorist and work to provide more parking spaces to help small shops prosper in local high streets and assist mums struggling with their family shop

As I read this my jaw dropped to the floor. My first thought was "Does Ms Spelman live in Barnet?". As regular readers of this blog will know, Conservative Barnet Council makes more money from parking than any other local authority. Less than two weeks ago I was at a Leader Listens business breakfast with Councillor Andrew Harper, deputy Leader of Barnet Council. I suggested that introducing a "Free for an hour" parking scheme in Barnets Town Centres would be a massive boost for businesses, help hard pressed motorists and be environmentally friendly as people would use local shops more and make fewer trips to out of town shopping centres where there is free parking.

The suggestion was universally approved by all of the owners of small businesses who were present. What was Councillor Harpers response? He said that the Christmas Free after Three scheme had cost the council £100,000 in lost revenue and any changes would only be made if the council could afford it. That is the biggest problem with the Conservatives. Where they have no power they make fine promises. Where they can make a difference, they don't want to know. How on earth can you believe a single word Ms Spelman says about parking, when the Tories flagship, way of the future Easycouncil, which David Cameron was so keen to support with a visit to Hendon last year, are the worst offenders?

If you want to let Barnet Council know what you think about their "Parking Tax" (because in reality thats what it is), please sign this petition to allow shoppers in Mill Hill Broadway one hours free parking

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/support-free-parking-in-mill-hill-broadway.html

By the way, if you are wondering where Caroline Spelman got the idea for raising the issue of Parking Charges, you would be amazed how many times this blog has been viewed by Conservative Central Headquarters (CCHQ) in the last month. If Caroline Spelman or David Cameron really want to get hold of some decent policies for local Government, they are welcome to EMAIL ME BY CLICKING HERE and I'll send them a copy of the Mill Hill Lib Dem manifesto, which we've been working on. From what I've been hearing on the doorsteps, it seems to be rather popular round here. As to parkling charges, Id suggest that if the local Tories don't want to listen to me, then maybe they should listen to their own front bench spokesperson, who has been rather keen to nick my ideas.

******** Update **********
Alex Hayes from the Edgware Times emailed me to point out that Barnet Council doesn't collect the most money from parking charges. The title it holds is the largest increase in revenue collected from parking charges in the last year.  Is that any better? Make up your own mind