mr president i rise to speak specifically on mr el khadraoui's report on the eurovignette the subject of which has been before this house in numerous forms on many previous occasions
my position remains the same in that i do not see the need to pile extra taxation onto an industry which is already badly hit by the economic downturn
in the united kingdom over gbp fifty billion is already taken from road transport each year and only gbp ten billion reinvested in transport as a whole
so much for hypothecation
at a time when we are facing the biggest economic crisis in living memory and businesses large and small are going bankrupt each week why are we at a european level discussing measures which would exacerbate the problem
in this context may i also say to brian simpson that it is better to do nothing than to do it wrong as i am sure his party will find to its cost in the next few weeks
on a more general note i should make members aware that in the uk these matters are decisions for local authorities in the context of implementing road pricing
in my own region the west midlands all seven of the local city councils of differing political complexions rejected the idea of implementing such a scheme
in brian simpson's own region citizens overwhelmingly rejected road-pricing in a local referendum in the greater manchester area
so i would ask this parliament and the european commission what part of no do you not understand
it should not be for the eu to dictate a one-size-fits-all approach in this area
it should remain a matter solely for national and local determination
