Badenoch vows to ‘end blanket 20mph schemes’ for drivers as Tories aim to ‘get Britain moving again’
The party said speed limits, which are “generally ignored” by motorists, would be increased under a Conservative government.
The pledge to review 20mph limits is part of the Conservative Party’s six-point Motorists Plan, which aims to “get Britain moving again”.
This includes a commitment to “end plans for 20mph” imposed by “Labour and its councils” “in all towns and cities without a meaningful evidence base”.
Plans to reduce speed limits to 20 mph are becoming increasingly common in the UK and Europe and are often implemented to reduce accidents and injuries.
The default speed in built-up areas in Wales is 20mph, and the Scottish Government has committed to enforcing this limit “where appropriate”.
Charity Living Streets reports that 62 of 153 local authorities in England have adopted similar policies.
Location technology company TomTom has blamed widespread 20mph speed limits for London being the world’s slowest capital.
Reducing speed limits from 30 mph to 20 mph has been one of London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan’s key transport policies; More than half of the capital’s roads are now of lower grade.
The Conservative Party’s Plan for Drivers stated: “The Conservatives will end the general use of the 20mph limit.
“Current plans will be reviewed and 30mph limits will be reintroduced where mainstream approaches have been widely ignored.”
The party has promised to take a “common sense approach” to bus lanes by allowing motorcycles to use them by default and preventing councils from activating them at all times without written permission from a government minister.
Other commitments in the plan include:
- Maintaining the 5p per liter fuel duty cut introduced in March 2022 under the previous Conservative government.
- Lifting the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars.
- Clearing the driving test backlog by providing up to 200,000 additional tests per year.
- We are launching a new national potholes taskforce to deploy specialist repair units using the “most effective technology on the market”.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: “Labour only sees drivers as cash cows. Increasing fuel duty in the global oil crisis. 20mph roads. Banning petrol and diesel cars. Keir Starmer wants to make drivers’ lives as difficult as possible.”
“The Tories are different. We understand that hard-working families and businesses need their cars, and we have a plan to get Britain moving again.”
Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden said: “Under Labour, you wait six months to take your test, pay at the pump, crawl through 20mph zones the council never asks anyone about, then fall into a ditch that wipes out your suspension. The Conservatives have a plan to fix this.”
The Ministry of Transport was contacted to get an opinion on the issue.
