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An interview with Chris Prior |
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 Q.
Why are you standing for the London Assembly?
A. I think the congestion charge is an example of bad government and
should be abolished.
I am not interested in politics for politics sake, but in making real improvements
in the quality of government.
Properly focused government has the power to do great things but it can
also make mistakes. With all the main parties supporting the congestion
charge in some form, I think it is time to take a stand.
The congestion charge is an unfair tax, it costs over 65p of
every £1 raised to collect and it simply doesn’t work. London deserves
better.
Q. Do you think you will win?
A. Yes, I believe that millions of people oppose the congestion charge,
I hope they will use this opportunity to have their say.
Q. As a member of the London Assembly, you cannot abolish the
congestion charge, so why should people vote for you?
A. The more votes I get, the greater the pressure for its abolition. If
Boris Johnson wins, I believe it will make him think again about keeping
it. If Ken Livingstone wins, it will make him think twice about
extending the scheme still further. It will also dissuade the Government
and other cities from introducing it elsewhere.
Q. Don’t you think the congestion charge is better than nothing?
A. No, policies that don’t work are no good. We need to do a lot better
in cutting congestion and reducing pollution. The real answer is
transforming public transport to make it more flexible, responsive and
affordable.
Q. If it was reformed, would you support it?
A. It is impossible to successfully reform, it is fundamentally flawed.
It is like thinking you can make a concrete plane fly by giving it a new
coat of paint. We need to recognise that in politics, as in other areas
of life, there are good ideas but also bad ones. The congestion charge
is a mistake, rather than trying in vain to make it work, let us do the
sensible thing, abolish it,
and come up with policies that work.
Q. Who will you vote for to be mayor?
A. On the basis that it is either Ken or Boris, I would choose Boris. Although
he says he’ll keep the congestion charge, he is far more likely to
change his mind than Ken Livingstone. I also believe that London needs a
change, people are fed up with the current Mayor and Government – they
have had enough of constantly rising taxes that fail to deliver the promised
improvement in public services.
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