- 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
Chris Boardman (copyright Allan McKenzie, SWpix.com)Prominent transport author claims appointment of Chris Boardman as Active Travel Commissioner is part of "Great Reset agenda"
Dr Richard Wellings — an author with a PhD in transport policy and a Twitter audience of more than 30,000 followers — has been accused of spreading conspiracy theories after claiming Active Travel Commissioner Chris Boardman's appointment is part of the "Great Reset agenda to force ordinary people off the roads".
The comments came in reference to an interview Boardman did with The Telegraph newspaper this weekend, in which he said reduced car usage is required and argued cars should not be used for journeys of less than a mile.
> Chris Boardman confirmed as permanent National Active Travel Commissioner
Dr Wellings tweeted: "This appointment is further evidence that our fake-conservative government is fully behind the Great Reset agenda to force ordinary people off the roads and out of their cars. They either don't understand or don't care about the economic costs."
🚗 Cars should not be used for journeys less than a mile, Chris Boardman has said, as he takes up his post as Boris Johnson’s first National Active Travel Commissioner https://t.co/IaRTrDqiJZ
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 2, 2022
The Great Reset was the name of the 50th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, held in June 2020, as well as the title of a book co-authored by the WEF's chairman Klaus Schwab, in which addressing global warming in the aftermath of Covid-19 is discussed.
However, as per fact checking organisation Full Fact, the term has also "spawned a number of false and unsubstantiated claims which amount to the basis of a conspiracy theory. For example, since the initiative launched, it's been claimed that the Great Reset is something that will restrict what you can eat or own."
During his time as head of transport at the Institute of Economic Affairs, Dr Wellings co-authored a report arguing railway lines should be replaced by buses routes — but made no mention of cycling.
In 2016, a Dr Wellings authored IEA report recommending removal of traffic lights also claimed that cycle lanes have 'unfortunate' effects on motorists.
His latest anti-cycling comments came in response to a Boardman interview in which the newly-appointed permanent head of Active Travel England said: "We have to drive less. A lot less."
In contrast to Dr Wellings' comment about the "Great Reset" agenda "forcing ordinary people out their cars", Boardman told The Telegraph: "People shouldn't be forced out of their cars. People should be given a viable, attractive alternative."
"Ultimately, we have to give people the choice. We don't want to say: 'Don't drive'. Cars are great [but] we are just overusing them. We have to drive less. A lot less."
Boardman also tackled critics of Low-Traffic Neighbourhoods, asking: "Who wants a high traffic neighbourhood?"
"If you think about it, there's no such thing as a Low-Traffic Neighbourhood. It's either a neighbourhood or there are cars coming through. Define a neighbourhood? We've allowed them to fill up so in the last 10 years alone, there are 20bn more miles being driven around homes. Because we're overusing cars."
Main image: Allan McKenzie / SWpix.com
Dan is the road.cc news editor and has spent the past four years writing stories and features, as well as (hopefully) keeping you entertained on the live blog. Having previously written about nearly every other sport under the sun for the Express, and the weird and wonderful world of non-league football for the Non-League Paper, Dan joined road.cc in 2020. Come the weekend you'll find him labouring up a hill, probably with a mouth full of jelly babies, or making a bonk-induced trip to a south of England petrol station... in search of more jelly babies.
Latest Comments
- Kapelmuur 0 sec ago
In my case the seat post wasn't tightened resulting in a short but violent contact with the top tube.
- Scarey 22 min 32 sec ago
'Fair' to drivers, an interesting idea; aren't drivers super privileged to start with? They can afford it for a start (many other road users can't)...
- don simon fbpe 1 hour 23 min ago
There are times when I think that these right whinger accounts are left wingers in drag, the aguments they espouse are so ridiculous, or don't...
- Cayo 1 hour 25 min ago
Or any non-drivist. A few years back, I was walking and crossing a side road not far from home. The road has particularly wide corners, especially...
- Backladder 1 hour 41 min ago
Doesn't quite meet the standard of "unavoidable" though does it?
- wtjs 2 hours 10 min ago
This was it in November 2022. Now you see the futility of reporting things to the police or DVLA
- katar_6 2 hours 14 min ago
I'm trying to login at my mobile and it says I need to subscreve. What should I do?
- wtjs 3 hours 39 min ago
I can tell you exactly what LC will be doing about that offence: nothing. I used to get letters like those- in fact, exactly like that. When you...
- Geoff Ingram 4 hours 46 min ago
I was trying to be funny. OK, I accept it was a pretty weak attempt.
Add new comment
40 comments
I might be giving too much credit here, but I would guess that the journey isn't starting on Sidgewick Avenue, they are just quoting the relevant bit of the journey. He probably lives in the brilliantly planned commuter village of Cambourne with virtually no public transport into Cambridge.
Having said that there are plenty of P&R sites around Cambridge which could be used.
FWIW I used to cycle around Cambridge in the early 90s when SIlver Street was two way for all vehicles and Fen Causeway, Queen Street and Silver Street were all congested most of the day then.
Wellings looks like a dodgy geezer- I remain a supporter of Boardman
Chris Boardman's great at avoiding the bear traps laid by the motoring lobby / status quo ("but the disabled"! "how to get the kids to school!" "but 'cyclists' / red light jumpers!" "The road's already congested"!) while being very clear, practical and common-sense. Not getting tangled in intricacies of counter-arguments* is definitely the way for mainstream communication. Most people are dependent on cars and have little awareness of "transport cycling". Or even a negative view of "cyclists". For change we have to speak to them.
This guy - although he sounds like he's straight out of some US political "culture war" nonsense - is right in one sense. We will get some kind of "great reset" - like it or not. We've already had a minor one with Covid (remember that?) working changes. What's at stake is how - and whether - we choose to direct this.
Do we try to get somewhere which will benefit more people and be more stable longer term? Or somewhere which involves less "change" to human routines and makes some people / organisations very rich - but merely defers some problems and creates others? Alternatively we can just drift with the flow of events until change is forced upon us.
* The detail is necessary. Just look at the tons of inadequate or actually dangerous "cargo cult Netherlands" - or worse - stuff we're still building. From seeing what they'd started in Manchester I think he and his team have grasped the key points around adequate infrastructure which might actually serve mass cycling.
Dr Wellings does sound a wee bit unhinged, but I'm all for getting ordinary people out of cars. Brilliant idea Dr Wellings!
Yep.
Now down to 41 years, and what's left is going to get more expensive and difficult to get out of the ground. Source: https://www.worldometers.info/oil/
Language matters to shape attitudes and behaviour on the public highway. Aside from the Great Reset to better explain the global changes occurring, the Pandemic has shown that many people do not need to travel to an office to communicate with colleagues and be effective. So less office travel is part of the new normal and is good to lower our unsustainable imp impact on the one planet that we inhabit.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/608904
Kinda hope Dicks right
Never heard of this dude before - I guess I don't pay enough attention to the pronouncements of the Institute of Economic Affairs. Would that be Dr. Richard Wellings [homepage], "Libertarianism and Austrian economics."?
A quick skim suggests he's pretty full-on "the state is the problem" and "free market" (for a particular definition of free...). Nothing (positive) about bicycles but couldn't be bothered reading much - tell me where I'm wrong.
I've never worked out why such folks rarely seem keen on cycling. After all that's inherently decentralised, involves personal private transport, low cost to any state. Some cost-benefit analysis suggests that compared with cars cycling could be a net financial positive when you sum all the externalities. Perhaps cycling's ... too free - or rather, too cheap? Maybe by being so efficient the bicycle makes it hard for a few folks to get a monopoly / make sacks of money?
Although by guilding the lily / making bikes more like the car with e-bikes and e-scooters for all I'm sure there's some opportunity left!
Surely it couldn't be that these folks decrying "crony capitalism" (of our "fake conservative" government) are just getting their funding from a different set of capitalists (or offering a better deal for the existing ones for support)?
Probably the best explanation is that the IEA is part funded by oil - BP is said to be major donor. Along with other wholesome companies like the tobacco companies.
I think this quote from wikipedia sums it up:
"In or about 2019, on national radio station LBC, James O'Brien said that the IEA is a politically motivated lobbying organisation funded by "dark money", of "questionable provenance, with dubious ideas and validity", staffed by people who are not proper experts on their topic. The IEA complained to UK media regulator Ofcom that those remarks were inaccurate and unfair. In August 2021, Ofcom rejected the complaint.[60]"
I didnt even read that much into it tbh. Just hope he's right about kicking people out of their cars..
Is it the classic, 'the cyclist is the enemy of the capatilist' as when choosing the bike you are not buying fuel, you are fighting obesity, you are not crashing into things and causing loads of damage, you are not paying insurance, etc. etc.
To be fair, if those people holding the above beliefs were to learn the price of the new 105 groupset, their viewpoint would surely change!
Pages