Several cycling campaign groups, including Cycling UK and the London Cycling Campaign have shared this work by Led By Donkeys on social media, a video projected onto the Houses of Parliament hearing the story of a mother who lost her son Bobby Colleran
to a road traffic collision outside a school.
During the video Joanne questions the prime minister and his government, who at this week's Conservative Party Conference further outlined their 'Plan for Motorists' to tackle the "war" against drivers, namely their plan to "update 20mph zone guidance"
to prevent blanket measures...
"For you not to support it... Why? Why?" she asks. "Because our children should be safe and should be here. You're five times more likely to be killed when you're hit by a vehicle travelling at 30mph. Prime minister, we are not a nation of motorists, we
are a nation of families."
The London Cycling Campaign shared the video, thanking Joanne and saying "we demand safe streets for our children". Head of campaigns at the LCC, Simon Munk commented, "When politicians pit 'drivers' against families, we all lose".
"The 'Plan for Drivers' is a plan for congestion, collisions, children maimed and killed, a plan for increasing emissions, pollution and inactivity. It's truly horrifying culture war rubbish to shill votes from idiots," he continued.
Cycling UK shared it too, earlier this week the charity accusing the Conservatives of an "ill-fated attempt to win" votes with pro-motoring policies that risk "undermining" active travel success.
Those comments came after transport secretary Mark Harper used his speech at his party's conference to build upon Rishi Sunak's pledge to end the "war on motorists". On Monday, Harper said the Conservatives are "proudly pro-car" and said the Department
for Transport would review guidance on 20mph speed limits in England and opposes their blanket use, would continue the review into low-traffic neighbourhoods, and aims "to stop councils implementing 15-minute cities".
Cycling UK's chief executive Sarah Mitchell called on the government to instead come up with a "holistic plan", not one that "zooms in on one particular mode of transport".
She said: "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. Focusing 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."
https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-4-october-2023-304273#live-blog-item-50235
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