Rishi Sunak orders review of low-traffic
neighbourhood schemes
Prime minister accuses Labour of being ‘anti-motorist’
and says Keir Starmer is a political opportunist
Peter
Walker Deputy political editor
@peterwalker99
Sun 30 Jul
2023 11.10 BST
Rishi Sunak
has ordered a formal review of low-traffic neighbourhood (LTN) schemes as he
seeks again to use green policies as a wedge issue with Labour and Keir
Starmer.
In an
interview with the Sunday Telegraph, the prime minister also made a notably
personal attack against Starmer, accusing him of lacking any guiding principles
and being a political opportunist.
No 10 has
asked the Department for Transport (DfT) to carry out a review of LTNs, with
Sunak telling the paper that Labour’s policies were “quite anti-motorist”.
The
Conservatives’ narrow win in this month’s Uxbridge byelection was seemingly
helped in part by opposition among voters to the expansion of London’s
ultra-low emission zone (Ulez) by the city’s Labour mayor, Sadiq Khan,
prompting Downing Street to raise the idea of watering down green policies more
widely.
This
includes the review of LTNs, council-run schemes that seek to promote walking
and cycling by filtering some local streets so that motor vehicles can access
them but cannot use them as cut-throughs.
While these
have existed in various forms for decades, their expansion was heavily promoted
by Boris Johnson’s government during Covid, which provided funding for councils
to create new schemes.
LTNs do not
impose any new costs on drivers and are primarily aimed at boosting active
travel. While research and polling suggests they are generally effective and
popular, they have become a controversial political issue, prompting Sunak to
reverse on Johnson’s strong backing for them.
A
government spokesperson said the review would ensure that such measures “work
for residents, businesses and emergency services”, and further details were not
yet available.
As there is
no set definition of what an LTN entails, and they are implemented by councils,
it is unclear what action could follow from the review. One government source
said options could include changes to guidance, or even legislation if needed.
In his
interview, Sunak highlighted policies such as Ulez and a reduction in
road-building by Wales’s Labour government to argue the party had become
anti-driver.
“The vast
majority of people in the country use their cars to get around and are
dependent on their cars,” he said. “When I’m lucky enough to get home to North
Yorkshire, it’s more representative of how most of the country is living, where
cars are important. I just want to make sure people know that I’m on their side
in supporting them to use their cars to do all the things that matter to them.”
Speaking
during a visit to Wrexham, north Wales, on Friday, Sunak also told the paper
that, unlike his own, Starmer’s politics did not seem to be led by principles.
“I’ve done
the job for just over eight months or so now, and one of the things is PMQs,
where I get to see him every week. I’ve got to say, the more I do it, the less
I seem to understand about Keir Starmer and the Labour party’s views on
anything, counterintuitively,” he said.
“That’s
because, for me, I have a set of principles and values that are important to
me, and that anchor my approach to life and to government. I don’t see that
across the dispatch box. Every week you just get a different position, and he
just is quite happy to jump on whatever bandwagon is coming along, and his
response to whatever headline or poll he has seen the week before – and I think
people can see that.”
With the
Conservatives consistently trailing Labour by 20-plus points in polls, No 10
has indicated Sunak will take a more personal and aggressive campaigning
stance. He is under pressure after the Uxbridge result to roll back on green
and net zero policies, which has created alarm among environmental groups.
On Sunday,
a group of 43 Tory MPs and peers sceptical of net zero targets wrote to Sunak
asking him to delay the 2030 timetable for ending the sale of new petrol and
diesel cars, something he again ruled out in the interview.
Sunak is
also pushing back against Labour’s policy of banning any new North Sea gas and
oil projects. On Monday he is due to visit Aberdeenshire to announce funding
for a new carbon capture project in Scotland, the Sunday Times said, intended
to meet green targets while continuing drilling in the North Sea.
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