Two press releases that have come my way:

Date: 23.01.07
Release: Immediate
Photocall: 0800 24th January 2006 Junction of Uxbridge Road and Wood Lane

Title: West London Tram Could Put Council Tax up £315

Campaigners against the West London Tram have warned that the project could
leave Londoners with a bill of £315 for every household in the capital. The
figures were revealed on the eve of a major Tram Summit, organised by the
three councils affected, to rally opposition against the scheme.

The summit will be held on Wednesday 24th January, at 7pm in Shepherd's Bush
Library. This is the first time all three directly affected councils -
Ealing, Hillingdon and Hammersmith & Fulham - have come together to discuss
ways to fight the scheme.

The councils fear that the Tram will cause gridlock in West London, whilst
leaving taxpayers with a construction bill of £1bn. This is because new
build trams, like the one in Sheffield, have never been able to recover
their capital costs.

The Tram is also unpopular; a survey conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of
Transport for London showed a majority of residents opposed the scheme. 53%
do not believe they would derive any benefit at all from the Tram.

Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, Leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council, said,

"This tram will cause misery for commuters by effectively closing down
Uxbridge Road. It is unpopular with residents and is likely to leave
taxpayers massively out of pocket. We welcome investment in public transport
but this scheme will only bring gridlock to our already congested roads."

/ENDS

Notes to editors:

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: Representatives of all three councils will be available
for photos and interviews at 08:00 24th January 2007 on the junction of
Uxbridge Road and Wood Lane. They will be unveiling a banner entitled "West
London Says No".

1. Transport for London's Survey in 2006 showed that 46% of residents
opposed the West London Tram.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/trams/download...tober-2006.pdf.
Far less where in favour.

2. Ealing Council voted to oppose the Tram on 18th May 2006
(http://www.tfl.gov.uk/trams/download...ober-2006.pdf),
Hillingdon voted to oppose the tram on 26th January 2006
(http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/central...il_26jan06.pdf)
Hammersmith & Fulham Council leadership first announced their opposition on
10th May 2006.

3. The £315 figure is based on a £1bn estimate for the build cost, this is
divided by the total number of households in London (according the London
Councils 2007 Local Government Directory) 3,171,664.

Andre Walker
Communications Officer
Hammersmith & Fulham Council
Town Hall
King Street
Hammersmith
W6 9JU

Date: 24.01.07
Release: Immediate

Declaration of War Against the West London Tram

All three boroughs along the proposed route of the West London Tram will
come together today to hold a summit declaring war on the scheme. The
councils fear that the tram - estimated to cost £1bn - will displace traffic
onto residential streets, choking West London.

From the outset the Tram has been unpopular within its catchment area; a
survey conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of Transport for London showed a
majority of residents opposed the scheme. Whilst 53% do not believe they
would derive any benefit at all from it. However, this is the first time
that all three councils have met since they all formally came out against
the scheme, a process which has gradually taken place over the last 12
months.

The West London Tram could cost up to £1bn, equivalent to £315 for every
household in the capital. Money that the councils say could be better spent.
The Summit will take place at 7pm in Shepard's Bush Library (24th January
2007).

Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, Leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council, said,
" The tram is far too costly and the Uxbridge Road is far too narrow for
this scheme to make any sense. Think about what could be achieved with £1bn:
more police, better public services or a reduction is council tax: isn't it
a waste to throw all this money away on one white elephant transport scheme.

Residents, councillors and road users are all coming together to fight the
Tram, we think its time that Ken Livingstone took notice."

/ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. Transport for London ' s Survey in 2006 showed that 46% of residents
opposed the West London Tram.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/trams/download...tober-2006.pdf.
Far less were in favour.

2. Ealing Council voted to oppose the Tram on 18th May 2006
(http://www.tfl.gov.uk/trams/download...ober-2006.pdf),
Hillingdon voted to oppose the tram on 26th January 2006
(http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/central...il_26jan06.pdf)
Hammersmith & Fulham Council leadership first announced their opposition in
October 2005.

3. The £315 figure is based on a £1bn estimate for the build cost, this is
divided by the total number of households in London (according the London
Councils 2007 Local Government Directory) 3,171,664.

Andre Walker
Communications Officer
Hammersmith & Fulham Council
Town Hall
King Street
Hammersmith
W6 9JU

Ah well, there's a surprise. The 3 councils concerned are all
Conservative controlled. Obviously there's been NO co-ordination there,
and NO scaremongering by Conservative politicians scrambling for votes.


I certainly don't remember Croydon, Bromley's and Merton's Council Tax
increasing exponentially to pay for the Tramlink. But, hey, why let the
truth get in the way of a good story, eh ?

On 24 Jan, 12:13, wrote:
Ah well, there's a surprise. The 3 councils concerned are all
Conservative controlled. Obviously there's been NO co-ordination there,
and NO scaremongering by Conservative politicians scrambling for votes.

I certainly don't remember Croydon, Bromley's and Merton's Council Tax
increasing exponentially to pay for the Tramlink. But, hey, why let the
truth get in the way of a good story, eh ?

Exactly. And there hasn't been anything like this sort of NIMBYism
with the Camden-Peckham route. Indeed, even in Peckham, the people
most affected by it (those who will lose their business/studio space
due to the construction of a depot) are still in favour of the project
as a whole.

Patrick

On Wed, 24 Jan 2007 wrote:

Ah well, there's a surprise. The 3 councils concerned are all
Conservative controlled.

And why? Because last year the two Labour-controlled councils were voted
out because they supported the tram.

--
Thoss

On Wed, 24 Jan 2007 14:00:41 +0000, thoss
wrote:

On Wed, 24 Jan 2007 wrote:

Ah well, there's a surprise. The 3 councils concerned are all
Conservative controlled.

And why? Because last year the two Labour-controlled councils were voted
out because they supported the tram.

Though I was amused to see a poster in a house here (Ealing,
Northfields ward) with two posters: one saying "Vote NO Tram" and one
saying "Vote Labour".

On Wed, 24 Jan 2007 14:00:41 +0000, thoss wrote:

Ah well, there's a surprise. The 3 councils concerned are all
Conservative controlled.

And why? Because last year the two Labour-controlled councils were voted
out because they supported the tram.

There was an overall national swing from Labour to Conservative. Is
there data to suggest that this particular change of control only took
place due to Labour voters changing their vote over the tram issue?

asdf wrote:
On Wed, 24 Jan 2007 14:00:41 +0000, thoss wrote:

Ah well, there's a surprise. The 3 councils concerned are all
Conservative controlled.

And why? Because last year the two Labour-controlled councils were
voted out because they supported the tram.

There was an overall national swing from Labour to Conservative. Is
there data to suggest that this particular change of control only
took place due to Labour voters changing their vote over the tram
issue?

I'm sure it was a major factor. The swing from Labour to Conservative
was 4% in London as a whole, but 10% in Ealing. The new council voted
*unanimously* to oppose the tram, with the remaining Labour councillors
effectively admitting that their previous policy of supporting the tram
was wrong. The Labour deputy leader on the council was reported as
saying "This [the tram] is something which has been very unpopular and
we accept that it has been a major factor in our defeat. The public have
decided this for all of us and we need to move on."
--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

On 25 Jan, 11:27, "Richard J." wrote:
The Labour deputy leader on the council was reported as
saying "This [the tram] is something which has been very unpopular and
we accept that it has been a major factor in our defeat. The public have
decided this for all of us and we need to move on."

This leads on to the interesting question - why do people in Ealing not
want the tram, whereas people in Peckham are quite keen on it? Is it:

a. Ealing has three tube stations plus two National Rail stations, and
feels that is adequate
b. Ealing residents are more likely to have cars than Peckham
residents, so the idea of road restrictions has more resonance for them
c. Peckham currently only has a couple of National Rail stations, so
its residents are looking forward to better services
d. The car lobby is more vocal in Ealing, and really there are no
differences in levels of support between Ealing & Peckham

or something else entirely?

Patrick

Because last year the two Labour-controlled councils were voted
out because they supported the tram.

I think it MIGHT have had something to do with other issues, tbh.

wrote:

Because last year the two Labour-controlled councils were voted
out because they supported the tram.

I think it MIGHT have had something to do with other issues, tbh.

Perhaps - but the ousted Labour administration on Ealing would disagree on
the tram's importance to their defeat. The swing to the Conservatives there
took everyone by surprise.