The UK’s Conservative government on Friday promised to “support motorists” and end “anti-car measures”, after Labor opposition-led regions imposed more restrictive measures in the name of the environment.
The Prime Minister said: “The campaign against motorists is an attack on the daily lives of the majority of people in the UK who rely on their cars to get to work or see family.”
Rishi Sunak added in a statement: “The UK government will set out a long-term plan to support motorists by ending anti-car measures across England.”
Among the measures released on Friday, two days before the start of the Conservative Party’s annual conference, the executive promised to “review the rules” that allow municipalities in England to limit speeds to 20 miles per hour (about 30 kilometers per hour). “To prevent its widespread use in areas where it is not appropriate.”
Sunak said he also wanted to “prevent local authorities from implementing the ‘quarter-hour city’ principle, an urbanization model where basic services must be reached within 15 minutes on foot or by bike, to reduce polluting means of transport.”
The announcement comes after the Welsh Government, led by Labor First Minister Mark Drakeford, reduced the driving speed limit in some residential areas from 30 to 20mph, a decision criticized by the Conservatives.
At the end of August, the mayor of the capital, also Labour’s Sadiq Khan, extended the tax on the most polluting vehicles to the entire Greater London metropolitan area, to combat air pollution.
This measure is seen as the main reason for the defeat by the conservative competitor of the Labor candidate in the by-elections that took place this summer in one of the West London constituencies.
Within the Conservative Party – which may lose the next legislative elections according to opinion polls – this measure prompted supporters to call, in the name of defending the economy, for a slowdown in the fight against climate change in favor of protecting the environment.
Last week, Sunak announced an easing of climate policies, specifically postponing the ban on new diesel and petrol cars for five years, although maintaining the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.
The Conservative Party will meet from Sunday at a conference in Manchester, and rumors are spreading in newspapers about announcements such as a possible reduction in inheritance tax, reform of secondary education exams, and new anti-smoking legislation.
Perhaps the most controversial decision, which has been criticized within the party itself, is to scale back the high-speed rail project between London and Manchester due to uncontrolled costs.
VQ (BM) // VQ
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