The British public are firmly against the government's proposed road price scheme, according to an online poll on the Downing Street website, which had nearly 1.8 million signatures as it closed last night.
But it appears that the vehement opposition is unlikely to have much effect on the government as the prime minister sent an email to each petitioner saying that they should keep their minds open on the issue.
The widespread discontent with the suggestion that motorists will have to pay per mile, with the cost varying for different roads at different times of the day, comes from a variety of sources.
Some argue that it is a step towards a Big Brother state, others are concerned by the increased cost through what is seen as a stealth tax and business leaders are flagging up costs to the nation's economy.
However, Mr Blair said in his email: "We are, for now, working with some local authorities that are interested in establishing local schemes to help address local congestion problems."
"Pricing is not being forced on any area, but any schemes would teach us more about how pricing would work and inform decisions on a national scheme," he added.
Congestion is estimated to cost the UK economy £9 billion a year.
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