Hitchin MP Hits Out at Local Council Over 'Mixed Messages' Parking Charge Rise 

Hitchin's Member of Parliament Bim Afolami MP has attacked Labour and the Liberal Democrats at North Herts Council for their 'mixed messages' after the council announced a hike in parking charges. 

The Member of Parliament, who had called on the Council to reduce parking charges earlier this month to support Hitchin's town centre businesses, described the decision to introduce new charges for electric vehicles as 'bizarre' after previous parking charge increases under Labour and the Liberal Democrats were justified on the grounds of promoting more environmentally-friendly transport. 

Mr Afolami took apart the council's claim that they were now increasing charges for shorter stays to encourage people to stay for longer in town, pointing out that the reason given for introducing charges on electric vehicles was that those vehicles were 'staying for too long'. 

The politician blasted the council's Labour and Liberal Democrat leadership for lacking 'the courage of their convictions to be honest' about the charges. 

Speaking about the decision, Bim Afolami MP said: "Politics is a tough business that requires tough choices.

"The public understand that – and they deserve the respect of an honest conversation about those choices. Labour and the Liberal Democrats have spun themselves into a knot trying to avoid having that conversation around parking charges, when it is clear that the reason parking charges are going up is to fund their political agenda for our communities. 

"It's now time for them to come clean and admit it – they aren't putting parking charges up because they think it will make people make better choices for the environment; they aren't putting them up to try and get people to stay in town longer - they are putting them up because they can and because doing so will bring in more money for them to spend on juicy election promises so that they can keep hold of power at next May's all-out council elections. 

"Alongside our Conservative team, I'll always be honest with you about the tough choices we face – and we'll put people and businesses in Hitchin and the villages first in everything we do."