he Prime Minister said he is “slamming the brakes” on “hare-brained schemes” such as blanket 20mph speed limits and low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs).
Rishi Sunak said the decision by the Labour-run Welsh Government to drop the default speed limit from 30mph to 20mph for restricted roads was “not right” and the UK Government would take a “different approach”.
In comments made to The Sun, the Conservative Party leader vowed to introduce policies to stem the “relentless attack on motorists”.
He said: “I’m slamming the brakes on the war on motorists – it is as simple as that.”
What we want to do now is make sure that all these hare-brained schemes forced on local communities… (they) need to stop
The remarks appear to confirm speculation that his Conservative administration in Westminster is planning to announce a slew of pro-driving measures ahead of the Tory Party conference in Manchester on Sunday.
Reports had said ministers would limit the ability of local authorities to impose new 20mph zones, restrict the number of hours a day cars are banned from bus lanes, and scale back LTNs.
According to The Sun, Mr Sunak also confirmed during an interview that local councils in England face a clampdown on “overzealous” enforcement of parking and yellow box junctions.
Charges will also be applied on utility firms who dig up roads during peak times, with the extra money diverted to fixing potholes, the newspaper said.
The Prime Minister told the paper: “What we want to do now is make sure that all these hare-brained schemes forced on local communities, whether it is low traffic neighbourhoods, whether it is blanket 20 mile an hour speed limits, all of that… (they) need to stop.
“What we want to make sure is that local communities are not having these things imposed upon them, forced on them.
“We’ve seen that happening in Wales. That’s not right. And we’re going to take a different approach to this.”
He said cars were “freedom for most people” and that penalising motorists “doesn’t reflect the values of Britain”.
Asked whether he had ever received a speeding fine, Mr Sunak said he “probably” had but “not for a very long time”.
The Prime Minister has pledged to crack down on “anti-motorist” policies and last week delayed the ban on the sale of new conventionally fuelled cars and vans from 2030 to 2035.
The Welsh Government is predicting its change to 20mph speed limits will save up to 100 lives and 20,000 casualties in the first decade.
First Minister Mark Drakeford said there is “incontrovertible” evidence that “driving more slowly in built-up urban areas saves people’s lives”.
A Department for Transport-commissioned study published in November 2018 found 20mph limits in residential areas were supported by the majority of residents and drivers.
The report concluded there was no evidence of a significant drop in the number of crashes and casualties after the introduction of 20mph limits.
