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Last week William Hague promised motorists cheaper fuel if the Tories by some sort of bizarre fluke were voted in. But he said knocking 6p of a litre of petrol wouldnt lead people to use their cars more. Yeh, right.
Now the Conservatives say they have a Right to Drive policy.
Shadow transport minister Bernard Jenkin a cyclist – said the Conservatives would "stand up for people’s right to drive."
He said Labour had given road users the worst traffic jams in Europe.
To combat the jams the Tories want driving to be cheaper (that well known disincentive to excessive motoring) and will speed up construction of bypasses. The Tories would also scrap underused bus lanes (as used by cyclists) and would allow cars to turn left through red lights (great, cyclists would have even more road dangers to look out for).
No party is going to install a fab public transport system over-night, or put cycle lanes on every urban road or make rural petrol cheaper than town petrol, but none of the parties, except for fringe ones such as the LibDems and the Greens, are particularly up to speed on provision for cyclists (although in Febuary Bernard Jenkin said the Tories would segregate bike lanes with rumble strips and would strictly enforce penalties for motorists parked in cycle lanes, two measures oddly lacking in his recent pro-motoring speeches) but its clear that in the absence of a charismatic leader, the Tories are going to use the anti-government sentiments expressed during last years fuel protests to gain them a few extra votes from dimbos who put unregulated car-use ahead of more pressing matters such as health, education, and the economy.
Hopefully, Labour wont be bounced into making any rash pro-motoring counter-claims. Motorists are already heavily subsidised and cossetted. Car dependency needs to be decreased in the UK.
Less cars, more bikes would be good for the trade. If the Tories got in, theyd be obliged to live up to their image as the party of the motorist. And Labours love affair with the car is bad enough already
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That was a Partly Political Broadcast on behalf of the Bike It Youll Like It Party
