Motorists should not be fined for stopping at their local shop for ten minutes, Eric Pickles has said.
The Communities Secretary said he wanted to end the "over-zealous culture of parking enforcement" and demanded that "officious" wardens should be more lenient in order to help boost the economy.
Pickles claims that the "rigid state orthodoxy of persecuting motorists" is damaging small businesses across the UK.
Mr Pickles' views are not likely to go down well with local authorities who, banned from increasing council tax, are increasingly reliant on the revenue generated from parking fines.
Pickles also called for Town Halls to create more off-road parking spaces to take the pressure off busy main roads.
Speaking at the Conservative spring forum at the weekend, Mr Pickles said "Thirteen years of Labour's war on the motorist have created an over-zealous culture of parking enforcement.
"Extending CCTV, not to catch criminals, but to catch you out the moment you park on a yellow line. A rigid state orthodoxy of persecuting motorists out of their cars, with no concern about its effect in killing off small shops."
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