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Liberal Democrats on Transport
"Norman Baker, Lib Dem Shadow Transport Secretary, has revealed the environmental impact of the government’s major road schemes. These schemes are set to cause vastly more pollution than was orginally suggested."
"The Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Tom Brake said: "These road plans will be welcome if they improve safety and tackle bottlenecks. But we should not create a US-style network of superhighways."
"We will not proceed with new major road-building schemes unless the benefits are clear, including environmental and safety factors, and based on a full assessment of alternative public transport schemes."
"Air pollution is already terrible around Heathrow airport and expansion will only make matters worse."
"The Liberal Democrats also oppose the third runway and have urged ministers to invest in high-speed rail links instead. Their spokeswoman, Susan Kramer, told the BBC the arguments in favour of expansion were 'glib' and south west London would become a 'pretty miserable' place to live."
For the Liberal Democrats, Norman Baker described the Government's policy as "muddle-headed and wrong," predicting that the project was "dead in the water."
"Cambridge City Council Leader Ian Nimmo-Smith has indicated that the City Council would support a congestion charge for Cambridge in a better-crafted set of TIF proposals."
"John Barrett, Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West, today called for all political parties to commit to a high speed rail network including both Edinburgh and Glasgow and warned that a spur to Scotland was ‘essential’ for the business and environmental case of the project."
"Only the Liberal Democrats have costed plans to put the passenger first, with plans for a rail renaissance, reopening closed railway lines and new stations and building a High Speed Network to cut journey times to Scotland and the north of England."
"Cambridge City Council Leader Ian Nimmo-Smith has indicated that the City Council would support a congestion charge for Cambridge in a better-crafted set of TIF proposals."
"Liberal Democrat transport spokesperson Norman Baker suggested the government's 'centralised and prescriptive approach' was what had been rejected in the vote. 'Today's result is not a condemnation of the principle of congestion charging but a response to the specific Manchester scheme and the government's attempt to force councils to follow one single route,'he explained."
"The Liberal Democrats on the City Council believe a congestion charge is quite unnecessary. Norwich is a compact city with reasonable public transport and excellent Park & Ride facilities."
"The Lib Dems have proposed major reforms of the current short rail franchise system to grant 30-year contracts with five year service ‘quality checks.'"
"Norman Baker: 'Longer franchises will get money into the industry by giving companies an incentive to invest in real, long-term improvements,' he added."
"Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat transport spokesman, said: 'Train passengers have been getting a raw deal from the way franchises are set up. We need a system that puts the passenger first.'"