- News
- Reviews
- Bikes
- Accessories
- Accessories - misc
- Computer mounts
- Bags
- Bar ends
- Bike bags & cases
- Bottle cages
- Bottles
- Cameras
- Car racks
- Child seats
- Computers
- Glasses
- GPS units
- Helmets
- Lights - front
- Lights - rear
- Lights - sets
- Locks
- Mirrors
- Mudguards
- Racks
- Pumps & CO2 inflators
- Puncture kits
- Reflectives
- Smart watches
- Stands and racks
- Trailers
- Clothing
- Components
- Bar tape & grips
- Bottom brackets
- Brake & gear cables
- Brake & STI levers
- Brake pads & spares
- Brakes
- Cassettes & freewheels
- Chains
- Chainsets & chainrings
- Derailleurs - front
- Derailleurs - rear
- Forks
- Gear levers & shifters
- Groupsets
- Handlebars & extensions
- Headsets
- Hubs
- Inner tubes
- Pedals
- Quick releases & skewers
- Saddles
- Seatposts
- Stems
- Wheels
- Tyres
- Health, fitness and nutrition
- Tools and workshop
- Miscellaneous
- Buyers Guides
- Features
- Forum
- Recommends
- Podcast
news
Rishi Sunak official portraitRishi Sunak “an avid supporter of cycling” claim his supporters
Rishi Sunak – described by his supporters just last week as “the most pro-driver chancellor in history” – is also “an avid supporter of cycling” according to his backers in response to an inquiry from the group Conservative Friends of Cycling.
> Rishi Sunak pledges to “stop war on motorists” and review LTNs
The group wrote to the former Chancellor, as well as Tory leadership rival and strong favourite to succeed Boris Johnson as Prime Minister Liz Truss, to ask their views on cycling, putting the following four questions to them:
Do you support the Government’s ‘Gear Change’ policy and policy objective that 50 per cent of all journeys in towns and cities should be walked or cycled by 2030?
What measures would you support to promote modal shift towards cycling and walking?
What personal experience do you have of cycling?
Will you continue to support Active Travel England?
In response, Team Rishi outlined active travel funding announced by Sunak during his time as Chancellor of the Exchequer under outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is notably pro-cycling.
The reply said that Sunak would continue current cycling policy and support Active Travel England, the body created earlier this year and headed by Chris Boardman.
However, it did not outline how Sunak, who last year revealed he starts each day with a 6am Peloton workout, planned to get more people on bikes to help meet that Gear Change target.
His team said: “Rishi is an avid supporter of cycling and loves cycling around Yorkshire with his daughters. As Chancellor, Rishi announced £710 million of new investment in active travel funding over the next three years, in the last Autumn Budget. This funding will deliver hundreds of miles of high quality, segregated cycle lanes, provide cycle training for every child and deliver an e-bike support programme to make cycling more accessible.
“This builds on a £338 million package Rishi announced in July last year, which is already delivering high-quality cycle lanes and aiding the delivery of new schemes to encourage walking. In total, the investment that Rishi provided as Chancellor will allow over 1,000 miles of safe and direct cycling and walking networks to be delivered by 2025.
“Rishi has taken investment in cycling and walking to £2 billion over the course of this Parliament and, as Prime Minister, would continue to ensure that the investment is in place to support cycling and cyclists.
If successful in this campaign Rishi will continue to support cycling policy and ensure Active Travel England is able to continue the good work started by the government,” the statement concluded,
Just last week, Sunak pledged to halt what he termed “the war on motorists” if elected leader of the party next month.
> Rishi Sunak pledges to “stop war on motorists” and review LTNs
He also said he would review low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), halt the rollout of smart motorways, and tighten regulation of private parking contractors.
Sunak, who trails Liz Truss in the polls in the leadership contest which will be decided by Conservative Party members, has been described by his supporters as the “most pro-driver Chancellor in history.”
“The UK is a passionate driving nation because driving provides freedom,” he said last week.
“We need to stop making life difficult for the vast majority of people across the UK who rely on a car as their primary source of transport to healthcare, employment and other essential day-to-day things.
“As Chancellor, I introduced the largest cut to fuel duty in a generation, and as Prime Minister I will go further so that we stop the war on motorists once and for all,” he added.
His comments saw his supporters applaud him as “the most pro-driver Chancellor in history.”
Truss has yet to provide her reply to the questions put to her by Conservative Friends of Cycling.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
Latest Comments
- David9694 9 min 46 sec ago
I cling on to the notions drivers/ people verbalise like "wasn't Center Parcs lovely" and "I've got no choice" in the hope that they may one day...
- brooksby 24 min 25 sec ago
Ah, but the terrorists build their invisible bases under those hospitals and refugee camps, and some of those children are just really short adult...
- chrisonabike 35 min 50 sec ago
Am I right in thinking that this has been the case in NL for over half a century (or 30 years nationally)? With a brief interruption from 2003 -...
- Bezzard74 41 min 39 sec ago
100% agree on all points! ...
- cyclisto 48 min 11 sec ago
I think this mostly....
- chrisonabike 1 hour 32 min ago
A good point - cyclists are somewhere between pedestrians and motorcyclists (a few - electric motorcycles mainly, which are not legal) in terms of...
- Rendel Harris 3 hours 46 min ago
Welcome - probably didn't show as they tagged it "not near miss of the day"?
- David9694 11 hours 5 min ago
Cambridgeshire boy, 13, crashes Audi into garden wall after taking it from home...
- mattw 15 hours 48 min ago
Used car salesman is a complete attention-seeking plank....
Add new comment
37 comments
Strava or it didn't happen.
Meanwhile the York & North Yorkshire Routemap to Carbon Negative says we need to cut car usage in the region by 48% by 2030.
The crazy thing is we could reduce the number of car journeys by roughly that amount just by increasing the average car occupancy to 2.
Good point, I notice Ford UK have almost got the message so maybe they won't mind if I borrow their advert and improve it:
I recall a popular comic was doing an advertising campaign about that a few years back too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lgH2Nbtowc
Wasn't there something similar in WW2? "Drive alone and you drive with Hitler"
Road.cc reported a modern remix, substituting "Putin" for "Hitler".
Don't know if they are still there, but outside all the USAF bases in East Anglia used to be a bus stop with poles of revolving common destinations on.
As a pedestrian, all you had to do was stand in this shelter, select your destination and a passing driver would pick you up and give you a lift.
Hitchhiking without the faff of sticking your thumb out.
For some reason, it was only popular among the USAF personnel...
Were the locals were complaining that this was a list of targets for American conquest?
In theory yes, but that only works for regular, predictable trips like commuting, which is 15% of car journeys.
It's also hard to achieve. We have signs at the entrance to town exhorting people to car share, but I doubt it has a big effect.
York & N Yorkshire's plan relies on demand reduction and mode shift.
Whilst cars remain privately owned and human driven that's probably the case.
When private cars are largely replaced by self driving taxis I expect the average occupancy will rise rapidly.
I hope we can get ahead of that curve by treating workplace parking as a benefit in kind. Where I work, it costs about £20 a day in a nearby car park*. If those who have a permanent space in the office car park* (which has about 1 space per 6 employees) were taxed on that £5000 a year freebie, their transport choice might change.
Linking the BIK figure to local parking costs so that out of town business park* workers would have much lower costs than city fat cats would seem fair.
*Why do we use the word "park" to mean these hideous areas of asphalt and cheap building?
"Park" in the sense of "parking a car", innit.
Is there no end to the war on the poor motorists...
I actually agree. My workplace has a truly enormous car park. The maintenance costs alone must be astronomical. A small contribution towards its upkeep from those who use it wouldn't seem unreasonable. Or taxation on the BiK if they decide to keep it free.
A Workplace Parking Levy (WPL) is a charge on employers who provide workplace parking, a type of congestion charging scheme that has been introduced in Nottingham.
Charge for next WPL licensing period confirmed as £458.
https://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/information-for-residents/transport-pa...
Has it had any effect?
Dunno. Probably going to be a foi for that.
It's been a huge success and has helped fund eg public transport infra, cities including Leicester and Oxford as well as LB Hounslow are looking at doing similar initiatives ... very interesting article here.
https://www.transportxtra.com/publications/parking-review/news/68005/the...
You are of course referring to this?
https://road.cc/content/news/self-riding-bikes-could-transform-public-bi...
Amazing that such a business dominated body could reach that conclusion; maybe the human race isn't doomed.
Yes. The test then is whether it actually gets implemented.
You can't beleive a word any politician says especially the ones in this Govt. as they are prone to U turns and being misquoted, so all this is just nonsense
I before E, except after C.
Cocaeni?
The English language is not an exact science and one rule is not usually sufficient.
Youve seized an opportunity there to point this out.
Indeed, humans can be a pedantic species. Maybe it even improves our society.
👏👏👏😁
E before U, except in countries determined to tank their economies and harm their own interests.
Not fussed.
Pages