Video: Shadow Transport Secretary: Road tolls 'will be another Tory rip-off' Shadow Transport Secretary, Maria Eagle weighed-in on the government's plans expressing concern that motorists, "must fear that they are in line for this Tory rip-off culture." Remember privatisation was supposed to make things cheaper and better and what we've got instead is taxpayers paying record levels. "I think this could be the thin end of the wedge towards the privatisation of the road network," she added. But senior sources said Britain was almost unique in having a publicly-owned and maintained road network.