THE Globe has reported that the Liverpool City Region are planning to increase the tolls on the Tunnels.

The car toll would increase to £2, unless you are a Liverpool City resident using a ‘Fast tag’ in which case the new toll will be £1.20.

Steve Rotheram, the Metro Mayor, tries to justify the increase by boasting of all the money that the City Region is spending, including £150m on a ‘COVID Recovery Fund’.

It is fairly novel for the Tunnels authorities to admit that the users of the Tunnels are being milked to support their non-Tunnels spending, but there is no attempt to give reasons as to why any of this spending should be met by users of the Tunnels.

The mayor also says "we receive no central government help to keep them running safely and efficiently".

Why would any government give financial support when it would just increase the profits of the Tunnels?

It would be interesting to know how much the tunnels are making in profits.

We have made strenuous efforts to find out, but the details of the Tunnels finances are blanketed in fog.

There are no tolls in Wales or Scotland and apart from London there is no other English city or region which has tolls at its heart.

This unique situation was made even worse when the Mersey tolling regime was extended to the crossing between Widnes and Runcorn.

These tolls act as a barrier to movement and increasing the tolls will increase the barrier.

We urge all Wirral residents to contact the Metro Mayor and other local politicians to protest against this increase.

For those who use Facebook, we have a group of over six thousand people there and we urge you to join.

John McGoldrick, Scrap Mersey Tolls

facebook.com/groups/scrapmerseytolls