Green Parking Referendum

Referendum Result

Islington Council can reveal the results of the country's first referendum on climate change and car use: the people of Islington have said 'yes' to higher parking charges for vehicles that produce more pollution.

Islington Council was the first local authority in the country to ballot every resident on the electoral roll - more than 127,500 people - over whether owners of more polluting cars should pay more for residents parking permits.

The Electoral Reform Services, who administered the referendum on behalf of the council, revealed 56 percent of residents said yes.

Islington Council sent ballot papers to more than 127,500 residents (80,000 households) on 2 June 2007. A total of 36,792 residents sent in their votes - a response rate of 28.8 percent. This is only slightly below the response rate for the 2006 local elections in Islington, which was 33 percent.

Of the valid ballot papers, 20,226 were in favour and 15,883 were against the green charging system for residents' permits.

See below for background information on the referendum.

Your Vote Decides!

'Should the cost of a resident's parking permit depend on how much a car pollutes?' We want you to decide.

Carbon dioxide emissions impact on climate change and one of the contributors to rising emissions is cars. However, many people are reliant on their vehicle in their everyday lives. So is it right to make the polluter pay more, and everyone else pay less?

Islington Council listens to residents. We believe it is important that the community is given the option to express its views on issues that involve tough choices. So that everyone in the community has an opportunity to have their say, we are holding a referendum. 

These pages include more information about the green parking charges proposal, how the proposed changes might affect you and how to vote.

For further information, call or email Contact Islington. For details, click on the Contact Us link on the right under Related Information.

Forget Speakers Corner...

The home of free speech was nearer Highbury Corner on 5 June. Actors dressed as people power icons - from Citizen Smith to the suffragettes - were on Islington Green. They were helping the council launch its campaign to get people voting in the country's first referendum on gas guzzlers and climate change.

You can download and watch footage from the event here in wmv format. Please note: the video is 7Mb in size, so it may take a while to download on slower internet connections.

The actors were joined by real-life campaigners from the Association of British Drivers and Friends of the Earth. The Alliance Against Urban 4x4s also attended.