I blame Scrooge McDuck...there I think we got it covered.

Large parts of Europe charge tolls across some or all of their networks.

Given that motorists in this country are such an easy target - all vehicles and drivers are registered - it is surprising that further exploitation by the government has been limited.

So I think we are living on borrowed time. Avaricious governments have backed themselves into a corner by promising no increases in VAT, PAYE, NI etc.

The only option is to raise taxes on things they haven't excluded. Road pricing would be easy to implement technically, could generate significant income, potentially allow vehicle tracking to combat terrorism, setrious crime, inform insurance premiums, identify other offences - eg: speeding.

It is just a question of when they feel they may politically get away with it.

That's the time when we give up driving and use a rental autonomous vehicle.

potentially allow vehicle tracking to combat terrorism, setrious crime, inform insurance premiums, identify other offences - eg: speeding.

Anti terror is the excuse they'll trot out and i suspect sooner than we think, it won't make a scrap of difference to tracking terrorists (most of ours were reported already but no one bothered to do anything, why should they? they don't get sacked nor lose their golden pensions paid by us), but it's an excellent tool to electronically spy on the other 60/70 million who don't kill with vehicles knives guns or explosives.

The Merseyside Gateway is a cooperation between abutting/nearby Councils and a range of other organisations including National Govt (via the former Gove Office for NW). Tolls may well have been a condition of funding.

I still blame George Osborne :-)

AFAIK, it was Osborne (or at least some other minister in the Coalition Gov't) who stated words to the effect of "if you don't want tolls, it won't get built"..............