Monday, June 10, 2024
Another Sunak faux pas
Surely Rishi Sunak has committed enough faux pas during this general election without walking straight into a charge of hypocrisy over traffic regulations. but no, it seems that he actually enjoys the humiliation.
The Independent reports that the Tories are embroiled in a hypocrisy row over Sunak’s “backing drivers bill” to scale back Ulez, ban pay-per-mile road taxes and crack down on Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs).
The paper says that having promised that the bill would be part of his first King’s Speech if he is re-elected on 4 July, ending Labour’s “war on drivers” in London and Wales, the prime minister has been accused of hypocrisy after it emerged his own ministers had supported many of the measures he is now railing against:
As chancellor, Mr Sunak reportedly drew up plans to introduce a pay-per-mile road pricing system. And in 2022 one of the PM’s own transport ministers, Huw Merriman, said London mayor Sadiq Khan should introduce a road pricing scheme to replace lost revenues from fuel and vehicle excise duties.
Labour also pointed out that Mr Merriman also suggested Mr Khan’s Ulez expansion was a “bold attempt to reduce congestion and pollution”.
Transport secretary Mark Harper on Friday ruled out introducing any pay-per-mile schemes and promised to reverse the London mayor’s “unfair Ulez expansion.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson introduced Ulez as mayor in 2015, calling it an “essential measure” that would “lengthen London’s lead as the greatest city on earth”.
Tory hopes that they can hold onto the backing of motorists who are counting the cost of environmental policies in the general election are looking more and more far-fetched as it becomes clear that, as well as top Tories’ past support for Ulez and pay-per-mile schemes, Labour have also pointed to senior Conservatives who previously backed LTNs.:
Tory chairman Richard Holden in 2022 said decisions about LTNs should be “entirely a matter for local authorities such as Warrington to make”.
Meanwhile former transport secretary Grant Shapps touted pop-up bike lanes, wider pavements, cycle and bus only streets as “examples of what people will start to see more of” under his £250m Emergency Active Travel Funding plans in May 2020.
Consistency is not a very atrong trait for this lot.
The Independent reports that the Tories are embroiled in a hypocrisy row over Sunak’s “backing drivers bill” to scale back Ulez, ban pay-per-mile road taxes and crack down on Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs).
The paper says that having promised that the bill would be part of his first King’s Speech if he is re-elected on 4 July, ending Labour’s “war on drivers” in London and Wales, the prime minister has been accused of hypocrisy after it emerged his own ministers had supported many of the measures he is now railing against:
As chancellor, Mr Sunak reportedly drew up plans to introduce a pay-per-mile road pricing system. And in 2022 one of the PM’s own transport ministers, Huw Merriman, said London mayor Sadiq Khan should introduce a road pricing scheme to replace lost revenues from fuel and vehicle excise duties.
Labour also pointed out that Mr Merriman also suggested Mr Khan’s Ulez expansion was a “bold attempt to reduce congestion and pollution”.
Transport secretary Mark Harper on Friday ruled out introducing any pay-per-mile schemes and promised to reverse the London mayor’s “unfair Ulez expansion.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson introduced Ulez as mayor in 2015, calling it an “essential measure” that would “lengthen London’s lead as the greatest city on earth”.
Tory hopes that they can hold onto the backing of motorists who are counting the cost of environmental policies in the general election are looking more and more far-fetched as it becomes clear that, as well as top Tories’ past support for Ulez and pay-per-mile schemes, Labour have also pointed to senior Conservatives who previously backed LTNs.:
Tory chairman Richard Holden in 2022 said decisions about LTNs should be “entirely a matter for local authorities such as Warrington to make”.
Meanwhile former transport secretary Grant Shapps touted pop-up bike lanes, wider pavements, cycle and bus only streets as “examples of what people will start to see more of” under his £250m Emergency Active Travel Funding plans in May 2020.
Consistency is not a very atrong trait for this lot.
