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Labour’s tunnel tax will make driving an unaffordable luxury for Londoners

11 1
08.04.2025

A construction worker in the new Silvertown Tunnel in east London, to mark one week until the new road tunnel opens. The 1.4km (0.9-mile) tunnel will connect Silvertown in east London with Greenwich Peninsula on the south of the River Thames, with car drivers charged up to £4 for each journey. Picture date: Monday March 31, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story TRANSPORT Tunnel. Photo credit should read: Ben Whitley/PA Wire

From today, Londoners will have to pay as much as £35 to get to work via the Silvertown or Blackwall Tunnels. The message from this Labour government is clear: drive less and pay more, says Gareth Bacon MP

It used to be that the family car symbolised freedom, whether that be the school run, the daily commute, visiting loved ones or heading off for a weekend away. But under Labour, driving is fast becoming a luxury only the wealthy can afford.

Quietly, bit by bit, driving is being priced out of reach. From this month, buried beneath the headlines, working people are being hit by wave after wave of new charges and taxes on driving. Labour’s war on the motorist is spiralling out of control.

More specifically, drivers in London now face yet another cost. A toll of up to £8 for a return car journey or £13 in a van, to cross the Thames via the Blackwall Tunnel. Introduced alongside the opening of its new parallel neighbour, the

© City A.M.