By Steve Bargeton, political editor

SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE party managers were last night trying to avoid an embarrassing defeat on bridge tolls in the face of a backbench rebellion.

MSPs will today be given the chance to vote to abolish tolls on the Forth and Tay road bridges—the only tolled bridges in Scotland.

An SNP Holyrood motion states, “The Parliament believes that the tolls should be removed from the Forth Road Bridge and the Tay Road Bridge.”

The Executive, which opposes removing the tolls on grounds of cost and congestion, has put forward an amendment calling for “the case for abolition of the tolls to be considered in the light of the commitment to the new crossing” of the Forth.

The Scottish Greens have lodged an amendment stating the “existing tolls on the Forth Road Bridge and the Tay Road Bridge should be replaced with a scheme of variable charging.”

But it will not be enough to appease Labour and Liberal Democrat backbenchers who support The Courier’s campaign to scrap the tolls.

The Courier understands at least four Labour MSPs will vote with the SNP and the Scottish Tories to abolish the tolls.

Among them are the four Fife Labour MSPs—Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West), Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East), Christine May (Central Fife) and Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy).

Last night two Fife Liberal Democrats said they, too, will vote to scrap the tolls.

Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP Andrew Arbuckle said, “I will be supporting the motion tomorrow.

“The case for the retention of the tolls is no longer tenable.

“I am not completely happy with the motion and would have liked to have seen included assurances that the work on the Tay bridge would be completed.

“I would also want assurances for employees of the bridges.”

North-east Fife MSP Iain Smith said, “I believe that tolls should be abolished and I will be voting for that.

“Although I do not think that the SNP motion will deliver that, it is a statement of belief.”

Last night the arithmetic suggested the vote could be close.

The SNP and the Scottish Tories are in favour of abolition and there are at least six known rebels.

Last March the Greens voted with the SNP and the Tories against another Executive review of the tolls and, in effect, in favour of abolishing the tolls on the Tay.

The position of the Greens today if their amendment is defeated could decide the future of tolls for tens of thousands of commuters.

However, there is a strong possibility that neither the SNP motion nor either of the amendments will gain a majority at decision time and nothing will be decided.

Yesterday the SNP were out in force declaring their opposition to bridge tolls.

Last night Mid-Scotland and Fife SNP member Tricia Marwick said, “The SNP is holding this debate to ensure that Parliament gets another chance to remove the tolls and end the discrimination that currently exits against the east of Scotland.

“Since the removal of the tolls on the Skye and Erskine bridges there has been a seething resentment in the Fife, Tayside, the Lothians and their surrounding areas about the unfairness of tolls being retained on the Forth and Tay Road Bridges.

“I challenge Labour and Liberal members who say that they want the tolls abolished to vote in support of abolishing Forth and Tay tolls—it’s time for them to put their money where their mouth is.

“This issue goes beyond simple party politics and it is time for those who support the removal of the last two bridge tolls in Scotland started acting together to achieve justice and fairness for the people of Scotland.”

Scottish Tory deputy leader Murdo Fraser said, “There can no longer be any justification for these tolls, which are a unique form of taxation on the people of Fife and the east of Scotland.

“The tolls have had their day and today this Parliament should make it clear that they must go.

“The Scottish Conservatives announced this as a key election pledge just under a fortnight ago and we wait to see if the other parties will follow suit.

“Not so long ago we had four toll bridges in Scotland—the Forth, the Tay, the Erskine and the Skye Bridge.

“Firstly, in order to appease the Liberal Democrats in the Highlands and Islands, the Executive removed the tolls on the Skye Bridge.

“Then Labour members in the west of Scotland started to rattle their cages and so the tolls on the Erskine Bridge went.

“That left tolls only on the Tay and Forth Bridges, and it is very difficult to see the justification for these.”

Angus MSP Andrew Welsh said the abolition of tolls is “long overdue.”

“Such a move would speed up traffic on the bridges and reduce costs to the commuters and other essential bridge users,” he said.

“Scotland’s infrastructure has to meet the needs of our commerce, industry and commuter traffic and abolition of these tolls has to be part of an overall strategy of improvement in the effective free flow of Scotland’s goods and services as well as people.

“This is essential for long-term economic success.”

“Bridges should be seen as a part of Scotland’s basic road system, and abolition of these bridge tolls is an obvious and long overdue reform,” he added.