Wednesday February 11th 2026
This View has been written by Miles Briggs, Conservative MSP for Lothian
I have launched a campaign to stop the development of a framework for a congestion charge voted for by Edinburgh councillors, which could cost Midlothian motorists thousands.
The amendment was voted in by SNP, Green, and Labour councillors at Transport Committee in May 2025. This set in motion discussions with Glasgow council and other surrounding local authorities about the viability of a charging scheme for road users.
The only existing congestion charge in the UK is in London. Here, the data shows that the scheme has not reduced congestion. According to Inrix (a leading traffic analytics provider) London commuters spent an average of 91 hours in traffic in 2025, following an all-time record of 101 hours in 2024. It is currently the seventh most congested city in the world and the second most in Europe.
Congestion cost London drivers £1,252 each, on top of which they paid £18 per day or circa £4,500 annually in congestion charges (assuming circa 250 weekdays).
In Edinburgh, which was tenth on the Inrix UK congestion ranking in 2025, drivers spent 51 hours in congestion which cost them £702.
Assuming a working year of circa 250 days and a daily charge of around £3.50, commuters could pay more than £800 annually to enter the city.
I have warned that a congestion charge in Edinburgh is a ‘cash grab’ that will cost Midlothian drivers dearly and damage business, while having little impact on traffic in the city.
SNP, Labour, and Green councillors are trying once again to make life more expensive for drivers from Midlothian.
They tried this before in 2005 and were soundly defeated. The Scottish Conservatives stood by voters then and have continued to over the 20 years since.
London shows us that congestion charges do not necessarily reduce congestion. In fact, in 2024 London set an all-time record for time spent in traffic.
This is another lazy cash grab which unfairly punishes people for driving, backed by SNP councillors whose government is failing to address major infrastructure problems like the bypass, which costs our economy billions a year.
Yet another charge on visitors to the city on top of high parking charges, the low emissions zone, and the tourist tax will challenge small businesses even more.
At a time of soaring bills and deteriorating standards on Scotrail services to Edinburgh, this is not the time to entertain yet another tax on Midlothian’s drivers, which could cost them thousands a year.
That is why I am asking drivers to sign up to my campaign to stop a congestion charge in Edinburgh, sign up HERE.
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