CONSERVATIVES on Ealing Council have said they will reverse the present policy on the proposed west London tram if they take control of the council.

The current Labour-led administration is a supporter of the controversial scheme and agreed last year to become "joint promoters" in cooperation with Transport for London.

However Conservatives have pledged that an administration under their control will bring Ealing into line with neighbouring boroughs Hammersmith & Fulham and Hillingdon as opponents of the scheme, Cllr Jason Stacey, leader of the opposition, said: "We strongly believe a tram would be disastrous for the people of Ealing and will make congestion worse not better in the borough.

"At the first council meeting after the local elections in May, the Conservatives will be proposing a motion to end the current joint promoter relationship and for the council to adopt a position of opposing the tram."

He said consultations on the proposed tram scheme have "consistently shown" that Ealing residents are opposed to the tram but these views had been ignored by the current administration.

However, council leader Cllr Leo Thomson rubbished the policy idea, saying: "Jason Stacey is showing just how naive he and the Tories are when it comes to the future of the borough."

"The Tory option is to do nothing and let traffic congestion multiply throughout the borough to the point of gridlock. But doing nothing is simply not an option.

"It is this administration's duty to find a sensible long-term solution as we cannot expect our residents to put up with growing congestion."

She acknowledged some residents had "worries" about the tram, but said the project was a "key environment-friendly regeneration scheme" which would "reinvigorate" the local econonmy.

The west London tram project is due to be completed in 2013 and run from Uxbridge to Shepherd's Bush, a distance of 13 miles.