Three out of four Londoners oppose Mayor Ken Livingstone’s plan to increase the Congestion Charge to £25 for the highest polluting vehicles, a new opinion poll has found.
The poll has been commissioned by Porsche, and is part of the company’s fight to get the new charge scrapped after launching legal action last week.
The ICM poll showed that 74% of Londoners believe the new charge is unfair, said Porsche.
The poll reveals 65 per cent of those who voted for him last time think the £25 charge is too high, compared to 34 per cent who believe it is about right or not high enough.
The poll also revealed widespread suspicion over the Mayor’s motives for the increase. 62% of Londoners said the main reason for the proposal was because ‘he is most interested in raising extra money from Londoners’ rather than ‘cutting congestion and helping London’s environment.’
81 per cent of Londoners believe the increase in the congestion charge will be bad for business in London, according to the poll.
The research also found that 68 per cent of Londoners believe £8 is an unfair amount of money to pay to drive into the congestion zone.
Responding to the poll, Andy Goss, Managing Director of Porsche GB, said: ‘Londoners agree that the Mayor’s plans to introduce a massive new charge for larger vehicles is totally unfair and is more about squeezing money out of motorists than trying to help the environment.
‘The Mayor should take the chance to reconsider his plans before he leaves us with a system that risks damaging London and irritating massive numbers of people.’
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