ROW OVER REFERENDUM QUESTION

1.30.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 21st Oct 2008

Local MP Andrew Stunell today met with Sir Neil McIntosh, Returning Officer for the Greater Manchester Transport Referendum, to set out his opposition to the proposed question wording, published on Monday 20 October.

The meeting in Westminster came after a group of cross-party MPs led by Mr Stunell called at the weekend for a change to the question, which they believe is misleading in its present form.

Commenting Andrew said:

"The proposed question doesn't mention the Congestion Charge at all, which will astonish most people. It must be made clear that there is a price to be paid by local residents for this plan, or the whole referendum is undermined. After all, if you ask people if they want a bar of chocolate, most people would say yes, but if you told them it would cost £10, most people would say no. The Congestion Charge issue is the key factor, and should be in the question."

The row over the proposed question comes in the wake of a poll showing that 48% of residents across Greater Manchester did not know that public consultation on the Charge had taken place, with only 11% actually taking part.

Commenting further after the meeting, Andrew said:

"The consultation process hasn't reached its target, with half of all residents completely unaware of it. Now we're being told that the referendum question itself will not make the direct link between the transport proposals and the congestion charge. I have urged Sir Neil to think again before the final decision on the question is taken next week."

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1) Sir Neil McIntosh is the Returning Officer for the Greater Manchester Transport Referendum in December.

2). A Telephone poll for the Greater Manchester Momentum Group of a random sample of 5001 Greater Manchester residents, sample of 500 per borough, was carried out by independent polling company Populus between 26 September and 6 October 2008. The results have been weighted to be representative of all adults in Greater Manchester. Populus is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. For a full description of its methods, visit www.populus.co.uk

3). The question asked was "The Association of Greater Manchester Authorities has been seeking opinions on these plans (this question was a follow-up to the previous question which described the Transport Innovation Fund package and congestion charge proposals including rings, traffic flow, prices and times ) in the last few weeks. Have you taken part in the consultation?" Answers were collected in the following categories:

Yes I've taken part

I was aware of the consultation but have not taken part

I was not aware of the consultation taking place