More from the government’s Plan for Votes – sorry, I mean Drivers (I promise we’ll talk about something else in a minute)…

At the Conservative conference yesterday, transport secretary Mark Harper decided to cast off any aspersions that he belongs to a serious government by jumping deep into the conspiracy well and referring to the concept of 15-minute cities – you know,
the schemes which try to ensure that all your local necessities are within a 15 minute walk or cycle – as a “sinister” attempt by local councils to “decide how often you go to the shops, and that they can ration who uses the roads and when, and
that they police it all with CCTV.”

On BBC Radio 4’s PM programme, it was left up to Andrew Bowie, the minister for nuclear and networks, bless him, to defend Harper’s stance. So, what did Bowie come up with?

“There are proposals out there for 15-minute cities, and I think people are worried that this is an infringement on their liberties, on their freedoms, on their ability to choose where they go to access services. We do not want local authorities
dictating to people that they must choose to access those services within 15 minutes of their house,” Bowie said, while impressively maintaining a straight face.

However, he did add: “Of course, we want more services locally and close to where people live. And that’s an eminently Conservative thing to support.”

But, we’re going to ditch all our Conservative beliefs and principles with a transparent attempt to stir up controversy and woo conspiracy theorists in a desperate bid to stay in power. Well, he didn’t say that bit, but you know what I mean.

“But we’re not going to dictate to people that that they must only access a service, or go to the shops, with 15-minutes,” he actually said. So, same thing really.

When the presenter pointed out that the Conservatives were basically “pretending” and “making up” concerns about 15-minute cities, and “spreading conspiracy theories”, Bowie limply doubled down, pointing out that those very theories were
popping up on the doorsteps and on online forums, so they must be extremely real.

Of course, Bowie and Harper aren’t the first Tory MPs to engage with the conspiracy-laden opposition to 15-minute cities – and judging by the state of political discourse at the moment, they won’t be the last…

https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-3-october-2023-304247#live-blog-item-50129

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Simon Mason <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

At the Conservative conference yesterday, transport secretary Mark Harper decided to cast off any aspersions that he belongs to a serious
government by jumping deep into the conspiracy well and referring to the concept of 15-minute cities

https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-3-october-2023-304247#live-blog-item-50129

QUOTE

Oxford council chiefs “covered up” data that risked “jeopardising” its controversial climate zones, which will ban residents from travelling
directly between suburbs, The Telegraph can disclose.

Six traffic filters, described as “bus gates”, will close off arterial roads to cars in an attempt to relieve congestion and promote cycling in a trial starting next year.

Local drivers will be given 100-day annual permits to cross the boundaries
– or 25-day permits if they live outside the city – and fined £70 on other days unless they take a detour onto the ring road, with buses, HGVs,
cyclists and blue-badge holders exempt.

However, Oxfordshire County Council has been accused of “hiding crucial figures” from residents, which show its scheme could increase traffic.

Tory councillors are demanding that the Labour-Lib Dem-Green coalition
returns to the drawing board, criticising it for “acting like masters” who “railroad through” climate ideas in a “democracy-free zone”.

Amid rising opposition in the city, Liz Leffman, the council leader, has
called critics “conspiracy theorists”. Police have been called in, while thousands have signed petitions against the zones.

UNQUOTE

Well, what’s not restricting about those measures, imposed without a vote,
by the climate-deranged fibbers at Oxford CC?

--
Spike

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Back in February, when a Conservative Party lawmaker in the UK’s House of Commons voiced support for the 15-minute city conspiracy, he was laughed at by his fellow members of Parliament. Now, eight months later, the British government is fully
embracing the fringe conspiracy and placing it at the heart of government policy.

“Right across our country, there is a Labour-backed movement to make cars harder to use, to make driving more expensive, and to remove your freedom to get from A to B how you want,” Tory MP Mark Harper told the party conference in Manchester on this
morning. “I am calling time on the misuse of so-called 15-minute cities,” he added.

A 15-minute city is an urban planning concept where all amenities are available within a 15-minute walk or bike ride. In the wake of Covid-19 lockdowns, a conspiracy arose claiming it as part of a global plot to allow governments to control their
populations.

“What is sinister, and what we shouldn’t tolerate, is the idea that local councils can decide how often you go to the shops, and that they can ration who uses the roads and when, and that they police it all with CCTV,” Harper said this morning.

Harper’s comments come just eight months after fellow Tory MP Nick Fletcher was mocked for voicing his support for the conspiracy theory in the House of Commons. Fletcher told his colleague that the idea of 15-minute cities was an “international
socialist concept” and that it will “cost our personal freedom.”

In recent months, protests against measures introduced by councils across the UK to lower speed limits and bring in low-traffic neighborhoods saw the conspiracy around 15-minute cities gain traction, and last Friday, September 29, the government unveiled
a new transport plan that directly references the conspiracy.

The new plan is designed to put driving, rather than walking or cycling, at the heart of government policy on urban planning. “The plans aim to stop councils implementing so-called ‘15-minute cities’ by consulting on ways to prevent schemes which
aggressively restrict where people can drive,” the government said in its press release.

In an interview published over the weekend, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled his government’s new plan and slammed the 15-minute city concept. “Politicians always want to make short-term decisions, take the easy way out, without any thinking about
how that is actually just going to impact ordinary people,” Sunak told The Sun.

The idea of a 15-minute city has been around for almost a decade and was first posited in 2015 by Carlos Moreno, a French urban designer and professor at Panthéon-Sorbonne University in Paris. He described his idea as cities that “should be designed
so that within the distance of a 15-minute walk or bike ride, people should be able to access work, housing, food, health, education, culture, and leisure.”

Conspiracies surrounding the concept began bubbling up on social media channels in 2020, linked to claims of a looming climate lockdown in which the use of cars and other fossil-fuel-powered vehicles would be banned. When lockdowns happened for a year
after the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the conspiracy-addled internet went into overdrive, and the idea of a 15-minute city mutated to become a Stalinist climate lockdown plot designed by globalist groups like the World Economic Forum to more easily control
all aspects of people’s lives and turn local communities into prisons.

The conspiracy has taken hold among right-wing audiences in the United States on social media, with psychologist turned right-wing conspiracy theorist Jordan Peterson boosting it in a tweet late last year that has been viewed almost 8 million times.

During the wildfires in Hawaii this summer, many conspiracy theorists on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, claimed that a direct-energy weapon was used to purposely start the fire that destroyed the city of Lahaina to make way for the creation
of a new 15-minute city.

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Simon Mason <swldxer1958@gmail.com> wrote:

Back in February, when a Conservative Party lawmaker in the UK’s House of Commons voiced support for the 15-minute city conspiracy, he was laughed
at by his fellow members of Parliament. Now, eight months later, the
British government is fully embracing the fringe conspiracy and placing
it at the heart of government policy.

But your previous post in this thread contained this, which is totally
opposite to what you have just written…

Simon Mason:

QUOTE

At the Conservative conference yesterday, transport secretary Mark Harper decided to cast off any aspersions that he belongs to a serious government
by jumping deep into the conspiracy well and referring to the concept of 15-minute cities – you know, the schemes which try to ensure that all your local necessities are within a 15 minute walk or cycle – as a “sinister” attempt by local councils to “decide how often you go to the shops, and
that they can ration who uses the roads and when, and that they police it
all with CCTV.”

ENDQUOTE


--
Spike

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Conspiracy theories linking "15-minute cities" to sinister ploys to control people may once have been the preserve of fringe groups on social media, but have they now entered the mainstream of British politics?

Speaking at the Conservative Party conference on Monday, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said he was "calling time on the misuse of so-called '15-minute cities'".

Originally an urban planning concept, the "15-minute city" idea is aimed at providing people in cities with basic services within a quarter of an hour's walk or bike ride of where they live.

"There's nothing wrong with making sure people can walk or cycle to the shops or school," said Mr Harper. "That's traditional town planning."

"What is sinister and what we shouldn't tolerate is the idea that local councils can decide how often you go to the shops and that they ration who uses the roads and when, and they police it all with CCTV."

But this is not an accurate characterisation of "15-minute cities".

They do not give councils special powers to restrict people's freedom of movement. And, while they are meant to reduce car traffic, they do not stop people from using other forms of transport.

Mr Harper did not respond to the BBC's requests to clarify his comments, which appear to echo conspiracy theories about sinister plots linked to the concept of "15-minute cities".

His speech follows government plans to "back drivers" by preventing councils from enforcing schemes that "aggressively restrict" where people drive.

The creator of "15-minute cities", urban planner Carlos Moreno, issued a statement later on Monday calling on the government to reconsider its stance.

"Associating the '15-minute city' again with so-called 'liberty-restricting' measures is tantamount to aligning with the most radical and anti-democratic elements," he wrote.
What are 15-minute cities?

The idea behind "15-minute cities" is everyone lives within a 15 minute walk or bike ride from all basic services we need - be it schools, clinics, or parks.

The ultimate goal is to reduce traffic, but also emissions that are driving global warming.

But critics argue that cars remain central to many people's livelihoods and it is still virtually impossible for many to access alternative forms of transport.

Several councils have incorporated "15-minute cities" into their policy plans, including Canterbury, Ipswich, and Bristol.

Online conspiracy theories have blossomed around the topic - many claim the schemes are designed to control the population and trap them in their homes.

However, no council is planning to stop people from travelling beyond the 15-minute radius. Instead, the aim is to provide more essential services within a short distance of people's homes.

Telegram channels devoted to spreading conspiracy theories around Covid-19 or the war in Ukraine have frequently spread false claims around the concept, linking it to all-encompassing conspiracy theories like the "Great Reset".

Even before last week's government announcement, it was still possible to find hundreds of posts on other platforms pushing false claims around "15-minute cities".
Oxford in the eye of the storm

It was in Oxford where this idea truly sparked a misinformation storm.

Last November, Oxfordshire County Council approved the creation of traffic filters, enforced through cameras in six key locations.

Private cars would not be allowed through without a permit (which they could use up to 100 days per year), but all other vehicles would be exempt - to incentivise the use of public transport and cycling.

The BBC understands that Oxford was one of the places Mr Harper had in mind when he spoke of councils that "ration who uses the roads and when".

But, while some people may find this "controlling", it is definitely not the same as a "15-minute city".

The traffic filters scheme attracted significant opposition from people worried about the impact the measures might have on their mobility and livelihoods.

But online, a separate conversation appeared to be taking place - one that tapped into genuine grievances against the trial, blending them with rumours pushed by far-right blogs and fringe media outlets around the world.

On social media, some users suggested this was part of a sinister plot to confine people to their local areas for the sake of the environment.

Others wrongly linked the traffic filters scheme to a separate council proposal to introduce 15-minute neighbourhoods in Oxford.

Oxfordshire County Council publicly dismissed claims suggesting a link between the two, as well as the claim that traffic filters will be used to confine people to their local area.

But soon the social media frenzy also began having a real impact offline: councillors received death threats. Others were faced with anxious questions from residents.

"People have come up to me and said: is it true that we're not going to be allowed out of our houses, that it's going to be just like the coronavirus lockdown?", Emily Kerr, from Oxford City Council, told the BBC at the time.

Leafleting campaigns accusing councils of treating people like guinea pigs were organised.

Soon enough, council meetings in other parts of the country were being interrupted by protesters.
15-minute cities in the spotlight

As false claims spread online, the subject was briefly raised in Parliament.

In February, Nick Fletcher, Conservative MP for Don Valley, asked the government to hold a debate on what he described as "the international socialist concept of so-called 15-minute cities and 20-minute neighbourhoods", which he said "will take away
personal freedoms".

In response, the Leader of the House of Commons, Penny Mordaunt, said that "where such policies are brought forward, local communities ought to be properly consulted".

Speaking to Radio 4's PM programme, the Minister for Nuclear and Networks, Andrew Bowie, appeared to agree with Mr Harper:

"This is coming up in discussions on doorsteps up and down the country, it's coming up in discussions forums, online"

"People are concerned and we need to address those concerns."

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66990302

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