A REFERENDUM on the congestion charge has been deferred indefinitely after councillors threw out the idea at a lengthy council meeting.

The Conservative opposition moved a motion at a meeting of full council on Wednesday, March 19 for a public vote on the GMPTA’s TIF bid, but the decision was deferred until after any decision by the Government on whether the bid will be successful.

The Government is currently considering a Transport Innovation Fund bid for £3bn to improve public transport across Greater Manchester, paid for by a controversial congestion charging scheme.

But due to laws governing local elections, if the Government do not make the announcement by the end of March, they will have to wait until after people go to the polls.

The Conservatives say that the electorate in Salford should have a say on the proposals and asked councillors to approve a motion for a referendum.

Councillor Ian Macdonald, who proposed the motion, said: "The congestion charge is just another tax for motorists, who pay quite enough in taxation to this Government already.

"We are not convinced the public transport investment proposed by TIF will actually benefit Salford in any way. The only main proposal is the Leigh ‘misguided’ bus way and this has been on the table for 10 years. We think the residents of Salford are intelligent enough to have their say."

Councillor Iain Lindley, who seconded the motion, said: "It would be better if there was more carrot and less stick in this arrangement."

But leader of Salford City Council John Merry, proposed an amendment to the motion so that any decision would be deferred until the Government made a decision on the bid.

Cllr Merry said: "We can’t have a referendum without knowing what we are voting on. We also have no idea what proposals AGMA and the GMPTA will put forward if the Government approve the bid - there may be a referendum on those proposals, we simply do not know."

Conservative council in Bury have also decided not to have a public vote on the proposals until the Government announce their decision.