Conservatives double down on pro-motoring promises while attacking “sinister” local councils

Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, has echoed recent comments by Prime Minster Rishi Sunak by appealing to motorists who feel ‘hard done by’ in his Conservative Party Conference speech.

Promising to curb actions of local councils that impact on drivers with pro-motoring policies, Harper went on to label local authorities as “sinister”, “deciding how often people go to the shops”, ration road use and police it with CCTV. It seems highly likely that is at least partly aimed at London Mayor Sadiq Khan and the recent expansion of the ULEZ.

The PM himself has spent considerable time criticising ULEZ, 20mph residential areas and LTNs while rolling back commitments to electrify the nation’s cars, leading to criticism from active travel advocates and sustainability-minded voters. However, the UK’s government clearly thinks it is onto a winner by appealing to car owners who feel like they are under attack in the ‘war on motorists’.

According to official statistics, around a quarter (over 17 million) people in Great Britain live in a household with no car at all. Then there are families which have cars but don’t believe there is a war on the motorist, and instead tend to think that some curbing of speed and car use is useful in tacking climate change, pollution and the UK’s increasingly obese nation. Arguably, then, this latest strategy from Number 10’s greatest minds could be labelled slightly odd. National charity Cycling UK has pointed out that the government appears to undermining some its own successful active travel moves with this shift in policy.

Sarah Mitchell, Cycling UK chief executive, said: “When Beeching took an axe to local railways in the 1960s, we were robbed of the freedom to choose how we travel. The government’s reported “plan for the motorist” feels like history repeating itself.

“We need a holistic plan for how people can travel – not a plan that zooms in on one particular mode of transport. A plan that gives us the freedom to choose how we travel, maximising our ability to opt for healthy, cheap and convenient options.

“Better public transport, and safer ways for people to cycle and walk are entirely compatible with driving. Focussing on one way of travelling is like trying to complete a jigsaw with half the pieces missing.

“No.10 seems intent on undermining some of the government’s most successful transport policies of recent years. Ministers should be proud of their achievements on walking and cycling rather than ditching them in an ill-fated attempt to win support in advance of the general election.”