SOUTH East Cornwall MP Sheryll Murray has angered local Liberal Democrats in her bid to secure government funding for the Tamar crossings.

During the 30-minute adjournment debate in the House of Commons, the Conservative MP refused interventions with the Under-Secretary of State for Transport MP Guy Opperman following suit.

The debate secured by the Cornish MP follows her delivery of a 6,300 signature petition to parliament calling for a toll freeze on the crossings this year.

Liberal Democrat leader on Cornwall Council Colin Martin labelled the debate a ‘sham’ after successive calls to give way were refused by the MPs prior and during the debate.

He said: “This so-called “debate” is a piece of worthless grandstanding from an MP who knows her seat is under threat from grass-roots campaigns like mine.

“If Ms Murray had allowed the Liberal Democrats to take part in this debate, she would have been forced to admit that the Conservative party has no intention of abolishing the tolls.”

MP for Plymouth Devonport and Sutton Luke Pollard and MP for Tiverton and Honiton Richard Foorde equally tried to get the two Conservative MPs to give way, to no avail.

Mr Foorde commented: “I can't think of any MP - of any political stripe - who is so scared of being challenged as to prevent all backbench MPs from participating in their debate.”

During her speech on Tuesday Ms Murray outlined funding issues with the crossings including historic loans taken out by the joint authorities to pay for the addition of the two bridge cantilevers and the purchase of a further ferry, the Tamar II.

She said: “What could not be foreseen is that this set a trend, which many will say was unavoidable, where borrowing has been seen as the way to cover maintenance costs, and renewing, replacing or even building new infrastructure.”

She questioned the joint committee officers’ use of the term “user pays” as incorrect noting the wording in the Acts of Parliament as “self-funding”; pointing out income from other means including advertising boards on the ferries and the stud operation in the Saltash tunnel on behalf of National Highways which attracts £553,000 from the Department of Transport.

She said: “The financial situation has now become quite serious. The two local authorities responsible for the crossings should, according to the Acts, fund any deficit, but they say they have no budget for that.

“Decisions have been taken over the years in a piecemeal way to increase borrowing, rising from around £10-million for the initial loan to around £41-million and increasing. If this was a business, it would be bankrupt.”

The relatively new offices on the Plymouth side of the Tamar bridge also came under fire by the South East Cornwall MP as she commented: “My constituents cannot be expected to continue to fund vanity projects such as multimillion pound offices on top of the council tax that they already pay to the two authorities.”

Closing her statement, she referenced the debt deferred on the Humber bridge to a tune of £150 million conditional on their tolls being halved. She said: “All I am asking is that the Tamar crossings are treated in the same way.”

In response to the comments from Ms Murray concerning the management of the two crossings, joint chairman of the Tamar Bridge and Torpoint Ferry Joint Committee Cllr Martin Worth, said: “We listened with interest to the debate in Parliament and are already implementing many of the actions highlighted by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport MP Guy Opperman as part of our Tamar 2050 programme.

“Following the formal submission of the toll revision application we are now waiting for the Secretary of State's decision on the application and any future funding.”

Vice chair of local Tamar Toll Action Group campaigning for toll abolition Scott Slavin said: "Sheryll Murray again raises the issue of the cost of crossing the Tamar in Parliament. An issue that the people of South East Cornwall and Plymouth know about all too well and feel the impact of in their wallet on a daily basis.

“It is unfortunate that the time limitations on an adjournment debate precluded proper discussion and action by other interested MPs, but if those MPs are serious about wanting change on this issue, then we suggest that they should redouble their efforts at elevating the profile of their constituents concerns on the matter.”

The adjournment debate comes after the application to the Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper MP for a toll increase which, if approved, could happen as soon as November 2024. The Minster has the choice to approve, reject or hold a public enquiry into the application depending on any objections raised.

In a letter viewed by the Cornish Times from the joint committee to the MP Mark Harper, they are seeking a “meaningful dialogue with government… with the aim of abolishing bridge and ferry tolls”.

It states, “The joint committee would appreciate the view from government as to whether this is a deliverable outcome.” It continues, “You may be aware that there is considerable support for the abolition of tolls, which are seen as an additional tax to the local community and a cost that hampers investment, particularly in Cornwall, hence this is a proposal that would be welcome by both councils if the issues raised in the report are satisfactorily dealt with.”

The joint committee is also working closely with Peninsula Transport specifically with regard to identifying funding opportunities. They said: “The Major Road Network (MRN2) fund is seen as a good match and potential for this project, and we await the guidance.”

The Tamar Toll Action Group is appealing for South East Cornwall residents to send their objections to the toll increase on the crossings.

Vice-chair Mr Slavin added: “We are encouraging the public to engage with the process by raising their formal objections to it. We ask that everyone opposed to this uplift does exactly that by emailing, stating their objection, to Sandra Zamenzadeh, NTCT casework manager, at [email protected].”