In her latest general election campaign update, Theresa Villiers has welcomed Conservative plans for a “Backing Drivers Bill”, publishing the following article:
“I fought hard against Mayor Khan’s hated Ulez expansion past the North Circular, which has caused so much hardship to Barnet residents. So I warmly welcome the announcement by the Transport Secretary Mark Harper that if the Conservatives are returned to Government, we will scrap Sadiq Khan’s Ulez expansion.
I have spoken out strongly against Ulez and other measures from Sadiq Khan and Labour which just make journeys slower and more difficult, like the bus lanes proposed to Barnet High Street and Whetstone High Road, or plans to build over tube station car parks.
I will continue to do that if I am re-elected. In Barnet, many of us depend on our cars because the public transport system is sparser and less comprehensive than it is further in towards central London. I really want people to be able to get around to where they need to be without too much cost and hassle.
But Sadiq Khan and London’s Labour councils seem intent on making London a hostile environment for people who rely on cars or vans, make journeys slower and more difficult. Just one example of this is the unnecessary cycle lane and 20mph limit in Park Lane.
That is why we will introduce a Backing Drivers Bill. This will enshrine in law that a Conservative government will not introduce pay-per-mile road taxes and will ban mayors and local councils from doing so. The Bill will also reverse Mayor Khan’s punitive Ulez expansion and ensure that Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) and 20mph zones can only ever be introduced if they have clear local support.
The choice at this election is clear: the Conservatives who have a clear plan and will take bold action to back drivers – or Labour, who would penalise motorists and take us back to square one.
In London, at the request of Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan, TfL are looking at introducing road pricing which could charge drivers for how far they drive, what car they drive, and at what time of day. We believe it is not fair for drivers to penalised for each journey they take, or for government to dictate how far people should drive. That is why our Bill will guarantee that these schemes cannot be introduced in any part of the country.
The new law will also require that any new schemes must be subject to a local referendum, and introduce a ‘right to challenge’ existing LTNs and 20mph schemes. Where lack of consent to an existing scheme is proven, there will be a duty on local councils to remove it.
Labour have adopted an anti-car approach where they are in power in Wales and London and would do the same in government. Sadiq Khan’s Ulez expansion hit 57,000 drivers with £26 million of fines in its first month alone. In Wales, Labour have cost the economy billions by imposing a blanket 20mph speed limit and refusing to build any new roads.
Since 2010, the Conservatives have backed drivers by freezing fuel duty and spending billions improving roads. That includes a recent announcement of an £8.3 billion funding programme over eleven years to provide extra support to councils to fix potholes. Barnet Council has been given £368,000 this year from the fund and I am keeping up the pressure on them to get potholes fixed.
In one of my last speeches in Parliament before dissolution, I spoke against unnecessary LTN schemes. You can read the Hansard report here.
Digital imprint: Promoted by Theresa Villiers of 163 High Street, Barnet, Herts, EN5 5SU.
