A fight over speed limits, bus lanes and potholes is a dead end
Central Convention Complex began life as a grand railway terminus. As the Conservative Party gathered there for its annual conference, which began on October 1st, awkward questions swirled about, Britain’s beleaguered high-speed train line—and specifically whether the line’s northern leg, from Birmingham to Manchester, would be amputated. No wonder Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, wants to change the subject from trains to cars.
Driving in Britain is often annoying, and at times miserable. There are 33m cars registered in the country. Around four in five adults have driving licences; outside the capital poor public transport means many depend on their cars for every journey. In 2022 drivers in Britain’s ten most congested cities spent 80 hours stuck in traffic, compared with 50 hours in America and 40 in Germany. The jams are set to worsen.
What’s more, Mr Sunak’s ire is directed at policies that aim to curb the worst impacts of cars. London’sis crudely designed but will save lives by making the city’s air less toxic. “Low-traffic neighbourhoods” are designed to make residential areas safer; parents tend to be keen. Cutting speeds in built-up areas is supposed to prevent crashes, which have killed more than 2,000 pedestrians in Britain in the past five years.
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