Government Prepares To Favour Motorists – Again

To anyone following active travel or environmental policy developments in the UK, the news that the government is preparing to announce a ‘Plan For Th …

By stwhannah

Get the full story here:

https://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/government-prepares-to-favour-motorists-again/

I hope to god that their current environmental/transport policies, along with their racist immigration and multiculturalism rhetoric, are their desperate last death throes.

It’s not surprising – things have been headed this way since the Uxbridge By-election.  The Conservatives seem to have once again pivoted to the lowest common denominator rather than trying to raise it, simply because it might allow them to retain some semblence of power/vote share.

are their desperate last death throes

once again pivoted to the lowest common denominator

This & this. Utterly spineless, desperate politics aimed at nothing else other than retaining their (weakened) power.
Come the revolution…

Looks like they are basing their policies on the daily mail comments section.

We* are going to be thrown all sorts of “nice” things by this current lot in order to try and save their hides. My bet is on a couple of tax cuts in the next few months as they go through their death throes.

* By we, I mean us nice upper middle class folk and up. If you decided to be poor or decided not to have white skin then you’re going to get shafted obvs.

They probably haven’t got time to get legislation through before they’re booted out of office though, and everything seems to be pointing towards a May GE.

As has been pointed out this isn’t a great electoral strategy as the kind of people who think LTNs are a conspiracy are also unlikely to have the necessary ID to vote…

I’m quite happy for more hep for the motorist. Without my car I can’t get to the office on the days I actually goin. I cannot ride my bike anywhere I would actually want to. There is no way I am using public transport to go anywhere as it’s awful. The only exception is to London as that is less awful on the train than the car in the centre even though my car is ulez compliant

My bet is on a couple of tax cuts in the next few months as they go through their death throes.

I wouldn’t bet on it myself

I’m quite happy for more help for the motorist.

We won’t be getting any.

They are just talking about overruling local decision making when it comes to road usage… but leaving in place local responsibilities to sort out the effects of road usage.

Odd article. The government is releasing a plan next week of which you have no details other than the title. While I agree that it’s unlikely to be great news for the environment, wouldn’t it be better to save the outrage until we know the details and can form a coherent response?

 

Talk to the “CEOs of Bikeability Trust, British Cycling, Cycling UK, Living Streets, Ramblers and Sustrans.”

Floating policies early is the government’s way of preparing the media and public for them with reduced push back from others. Organisations have got wise to this technique and try and get their points into the media alongside the governments’ own spin before it all becomes settled and old news for the media and it’s too late to be heard.

I hate the fact that my in-laws will be loving this news. I cannot believe* that they are doing these about-turns on policies left, right and centre.

*Well I can. I just wish it was unbelievable.

They probably haven’t got time to get legislation through before they’re booted out of office though, and everything seems to be pointing towards a May GE.

As has been pointed out this isn’t a great electoral strategy as the kind of people who think LTNs are a conspiracy are also unlikely to have the necessary ID to vote…

I agree.

But the problem it the announcements and messaging gives succour to the outdated views and policies being suggested. It increases the self-importance of many drivers, and degrades the rights AND encouragement to build a different future for ourselves.

higher taxation on the cards, not less:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/sep/29/uk-households-face-tax-rise-of-3500-a-year-by-next-election-finds-ifs

Well as long as you’re ok.

A 😠

It’s not surprising – things have been headed this way since the Uxbridge By-election.

Its a weird thing to base your entire electoral strategy on though. They held on to Uxbridge, somewhere they have always had a huge majority, by the skin of their teeth. Its a hardly a ringing endorsement from the electorate, is it?

This whole thing just reeks of total desperation and trying to shore up their core vote of reactionary old giffers

Having said that, I’m just off out to ride into Bury, via this, which happens to make perfect sense when you ride through it on a bike. However, when the council putting this in last year it sent the national right wing press into a complete meltdown 🤷‍♂️

“about-turns on policies left, right and centre.”

Mostly right.

I heard some news about us currently paying the highest taxes ever.  I expect this is just seeding the ground for some of the tax cuts mentioned above.

Its a weird thing to base your entire electoral strategy on though. They held on to Uxbridge, somewhere they have always had a huge majority, by the skin of their teeth. Its a hardly a ringing endorsement from the electorate, is it?

Well, yes.  But this is from the same group of people that destroyed a country to get rid of a Political Party that was a threat to their vote share, so not exactly unprecedented in terms of near term thinking.  They need something and It’s not like they can run on their record now, is it?

Two years ago I wrote to my MP in support of active travel policies and received an enthusiastic reply. He told me he was a huge fan of active travel and how proud he was his government had pledged £3bn in funding, how it would improve the quality of our lives and encourage us to give up those polluting motor cars.

That man is Richard Holden. Since he became a Junior Transport Minister he’s overseen a 1bn cut in the active travel budget and when I wrote to point out the discrepancy fobbed me off with a standard response from the DfT.

presumably from today he now believes active travel is a lefty, wokeist conspiracy to force us all to give up being British.

Every town and city has a problem with congestion and pollution. And Rishi Sunak’s answer is to let more people stop in box junctions?

Conservatives are out of ideas and out of touch. Even they know it.

I’m quite happy for more hep for the motorist. Without my car I can’t get to the office on the days I actually goin. I cannot ride my bike anywhere I would actually want to. There is no way I am using public transport to go anywhere as it’s awful. The only exception is to London as that is less awful on the train than the car in the centre even though my car is ulez compliant

What as a motorist do you feel you need helping out with? There is a huge amount spent on “the motorist” and not alot spent on anyone else, which presumably is why you feel there is no option for you other than to take your car to the office. It even seems that proven ideas to make our towns safer for all isn’t going to upset the motorist too much.

Without my car I can’t get to the office on the days I actually goin. I cannot ride my bike anywhere I would actually want to. There is no way I am using public transport to go anywhere as it’s awful.

Those are exactly the problems we want to solve, and those are the problems Sunak wants to prevent people solving.

As a Sustrans Volunteer I’m helping with our local Active Travel event tomorrow, wondering if it’s just peeing into the wind 😔

For all Boris’s many (Many, many many) faults I do think that he actual believed in climate change and active travel and he was seen as enough of an electoral asset by his party that he was allowed to carry those views into No.10 without having his rank and file party members up in arms.

Now Sunak’s clutching at straws it’s no surprise he’s ditched these policies at the first opportunity. The party faithful never liked them and the voters most likely to approve of them aren’t going to vote for him anyway.

So what’s in the Plan? That was a whole lot of scrolling without any information.

”Down with whatever they say next!”

I’m quite happy for more hep for the motorist. Without my car I can’t get to the office on the days I actually goin. I cannot ride my bike anywhere I would actually want to. There is no way I am using public transport to go anywhere as it’s awful. The only exception is to London as that is less awful on the train than the car in the centre even though my car is ulez compliant

I’m all right jack sod you, sod the health of everyone else, sod the poor who don’t own cars.  Me me me me

Cars are subsidised from general taxation hugely.  You already get loads of help by not paying the full costs.

”Down with whatever they say next!”

Yeah, up with raising speed limits! In fact, let’s just abolish them and make it easier for the police to ignore speeding.

It’ll be announced on Monday, at the Tory sleazefest conference in Manchester.

I’m all right jack sod you, sod the health of everyone else, sod the poor who don’t own cars.  Me me me me

I presume are holier than the rest of us. Do nothing that’s bad for the environment. The reality is that cars are the most convenient and realistic way of getting around for the foreseeable future

I have never owned a car.  I do my best to live a low impact lifestyle for a westerner.  Its still nowhere near good enough of course.

Cars are still incredibly convenient at 20 mph in built-up areas.

The reality is that cars are the most convenient and realistic way of getting around for the foreseeable future

I own two cars but I know plenty of people who have zero cars and no intention of getting one and seem to do just fine, including one of my grown up children.

Yes it makes some things more annoying but when I think about the thousands of pounds of rapidly deoreciating metal and plastic standing idle outside my house right now it makes me wonder what I was thinking of.

Cars are at their most convenient when not so many other people are in cars because they don’t have to be.

The reality is that cars are the most convenient and realistic way of getting around for the foreseeable future

Just because they are the most convenient for you, doesn’t mean that active travel policies and funding will not benefit others.  Loads of people round my area queue along a busy coastal road every rush hour despite there being 15 minutes buses, many just need a bit of a nudge to get on their bike or car.

Highways have just completed a 16km segregated cycle lane near me that is very popular with cyclists despite all the vocal drivers on social media claiming no one will ever use it. They want the road turned into a dual carriageway. A fag packet calculation suggests the budget for the cycle lane would have built just a few hundred metres of dual carriageway.  It just shows how cancelling one big road scheme could fund segregated cycle lanes along many of our trunk roads…I still don’t have any safe ‘road’ options to travel north or east despite living in the south-east near the South Downs.

Imagine if they hadn’t done smart motorways and instead put segregated cycle lanes down every A road. We’d have a world class leading cycle network by now

I’m quite happy for more hep for the motorist. Without my car I can’t get to the office on the days I actually goin. I cannot ride my bike anywhere I would actually want to.

How far is the office from your house and how often do you travel?

Would having say 70% of your potential cycle commute on dedicated cycle paths actually convince you to ride?

…or is it all too difficult and do you just want it cheap and easy?

do you just want it cheap and easy?

I do. However I also support 20mph speed limits and other controls to improve getting around for drivers and non drivers. It is still cheap and easy to drive around even with the above.

Outside the big cities public transport is a joke, a lad I work with uses the bus to Malvern from Worcester, the last bus was 10pm ish, nowadays it’s 6.18 Monday to Saturday, and doesn’t run on a Sunday.

Yeah, up with raising speed limits! In fact, let’s just abolish them and make it easier for the police to ignore speeding.

Is that what’s coming? If so, then fair enough, but where did you find the information?

I was in Wales this week and the new 20mph speed limits felt much more appropriate in villages.

 

 

There are a significant number of the carcentric on here. See Top gear threads, what car for spirited driving.

We also need to look at our own attitudes.