U.K. PM Sunak's latest wheeze is to stop local councils from applying 20mph speed limits in built up busy areas, in a bid to win the 'motorists' vote.
Is it really a vote winner though? Are all the 'motorists' suddenly going to switch to voting Tory? I think he'll find that the 'motorists' that will vote for him based on this policy are the same 'motorists' that we're going to vote for him anyway.
In the U.K., the people who are protesting against 20 miles per hour traffic calming measures are the exact same people who protested against COVID vaccines and smashed down the 5G masts. They are all radicalised by online conspiracy theories pushed by the likes of Bannon and Putin.
So when Rishi Sunak says he also wants to stop councils enforcing traffic calming measures, he's not so much going for the 'motorist' vote, rather he's signalling to his allies.
Just who are these 'motorists' whose 'British values' make them want to drive at 30mph instead of 20mph in built up areas?
There are over 30 million people in the U.K. who drive. I know for a fact they don't all think the same, and many of them support a 20mph limit. Does that make them unBritish?
@ProjectFearlessness
Speed links to deaths and not linearly. I no longer am surprised by anything they do. They are derelict of morality scruples decency compassion or any attempt to enrich anybodys' lives but their own. Thatcher was bad but this lot are straight from the Loonytunes Far R libertarian abyss. While talking abt 20mph, they r setting up freeport/charter cities to shaft us more and enrich themselves further.
Oh dear, Rishi finds yet another reason for anyone who has a decent dose of humanity or rationality to vote elsewhere. But Boris and Liz probably did for that demographic anyway so nothing to lose there.
This is about not being squeezed by Reform/Reclaim. They can exploit these issues and if not neutralised could take 5-10% of the vote devasting the Tories.
@stuart@Doug4NHS
I see your point, but how much more do you think Sunak needs to do to get the reactionary racist vote? He's headed off Reform and then some.
Not forgetting the UKIP legacy have also taken hold of many Tory constituency parties. If they aren't enthused to get out and canvas then even the rump Tory vote is at risk.
Sensible policies for him.today. Disastrous for the rest of us.
@stuart@Doug4NHS
I still think he's gilding the lilly, but yes. It is disastrous, or it would be if he could make it stick. He's running out of time now.
II don't see any alternative for Rishi. Like Boris he is no great political thinker. What might work in his favour gets his vote.
If he can avoid a complete disaster that can seem like a win. Even if they get most seats but not a clear majority then he isn't going to PM because neither the LD or the SNP will support the Tories after the last coalition debacle.
But at least it will help him get back to the city. London or San Diego is the question.
Whatever we may think of Rishi he is the Tory's best hope. It's amazing that so many Tories can't see that which is why he has to come out with these awful policies to try and appease them.
Be careful of what you wish for - Suella or Kemi really frighten me. The poison they could spread even as a small minority.
Of course, this is classic Sunak. He lets the racists decide how we treat refugees, he lets the rich decide how much tax they pay, he lets the oil companies decide how much oil they exploit, and now he's letting the 'motorists' decide what the speed limit should be.
And it's all done in the name of those good old 'British Values'.
In the U.K. polling is split on whether or not 20 mph speed limits should be applied, and it breaks down on fairly clear political lines. The Express(!) found 91% of their readers against it. A You Gov survey showed 61% against it in the U.K. Redfield and Winton found only 34% in Wales against it.
So when Sunak says the 20mph limits are 'anti-motorist' be sure to know which 'motorists' he's talking about.
@grb090423 It totally is. I just read someone saying that, in time, the people protesting the speed limits will be seen as just as ridiculous as the people who protested seatbelts. I look forward to that time, because right now is driving me nuts.
This poll is from last July, before the cage was rattled on the U.K.s 20mph speed limits.
The U.K. public were in favour of introducing speed limits by 48% to 39%.
There's a noticeably different opinion amongst Conservative voters, who were opposed by 52% to 41%. That's still far from overwhelming support.
Sunak's new policy might not be the vote winner he thinks it is. But it's definitely the culture war stoker he knows it is.
The more you think about it, the less sense Sunak's policy announcement on speed limits make. Speed limits should be decided by experts after vigorous studies and taking everybody's needs into consideration.
Why is he letting the motorists decide what the speed limit should be?
I'd say it was like letting alcoholics decide what price a pint should be, but I don't want to give him any more policy ideas.
Here's a couple of images from one of the anti 20mph protest in Wales. It's the wording on the banners that confirms to me that these 'motorists' have been radicalised online.
'Defy the travel lockdown.'
'Lose your car, lose your freedom.'
Nobody's being locked down. Nobody's losing their freedom. It's a 20mph speed limit. But they can't help jumping to wacky conclusions. It's exactly the same conspiracy theorist narrative as the anti-5G mast protests or the anti-vax protests.
15 minute cities are the idea that everything a person needs should be within a 15 minute walk from their home, cutting down on travel. It's a good idea. Nobody would think it was a devious plan to curtail your freedom unless you were a total conspiracy nutjob. Or, it seems, U.K. PM Rishi Sunak.
@GreenFire@martinhowitt
The idea that the 15 minute city plan is coming to take away our freedom is a tried and tested conspiracy theory that has been floating around for years. It's so wildly wrong that it's easy to rebuff and not such a big problem, that is until your prime minister starts using it in their new policy agenda.
The 15 minute city as a Great Reset conspiracy theory had a brief resurgence at the start of the year before everyone dismissed it as absolute bobbins.
So, when U.K. PM Rishi Sunak is floating resistance to the 15 minute city as a policy idea, not only is he acting like a whacked out conspiracy nut job, he's also well behind the times.
@ProjectFearlessness@dans It's the same colour signs - yellow with black writing. That colour scheme has featured at all the conspiracy protests in recent years.
You don't see that colour scheme with non-conspiracy protests.
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