Our eagle-eyed John Dowdle (St Albans PPC) has spotted a move by Highways Chiefs in Hertfordshire to roll out a wave of unwanted and undemocratic 20mph zones across the county!
Why I here you ask? To " improve road safety, create calmer streets and encourage more walking and cycling", according to Hertfordshire County Council. What a load of rubbish!
This we all know is part of the not-so-secret war on motorists occurring across the nation, but it's also part of something more depressing. For years, driving at 30mph in built up areas wasn't too much of an issue, the limit itself was put in place in 1935, and driving has only been getting safer. With progess in car technology, better break designs, more efficient engines, crumple zones, road safety campaigns and existing speed control measures, today's motorist has never been safer and cars have never polluted less.
So why after 90 years, is it all of a sudden so bad to drive at 30mph? Why are our roads now full of danger, chaos and pollution? We all know it's immigration. You can't import record numbers of people in the country without having a knock of effect of the roads, especially in cities and towns. It seems that those in power will blame ANYTHING rather immigration. These ostriches truly have their heads in the sand! Why blame their own incompetence and complicity when they can blame you!
And now that it's all your fault, for having the audacity to need a car, guess how much it's going to cost you? £2.3 million! That’s according to the budget proposals for 2024/25.
You’d be forgiven for thinking the Lib Dems and Greens controlled HCC, but no, the Tories are pulling all the strings and have already spent £3 million on 20mph zones, with plans to waste a further £1.7 million in 2025. That’s £7 million of your council tax, splurged for Tory vanity. All said and done, we’ll have more than 50 of these 20mph zones across the county.
Needless to say – we’ll be fighting this in everyway we can. John Dowdle has started a petition against the measures and we’ll be making this a key feature of our local campaigns.
These 20mp zones are all the work of (so-called) Conservative Cllr Phil Bibby in St Nicholas ward in Stevenage. It’s worth noting the man’s clung on to power with a majority of barely 100 votes!
But good news is at hand, our man in Stevenage, Amo Amato will hopefully be contesting the St Nicholas ward again come the next local elections.
While only getting 2% in 2021, when Reform UK was completely unknown, Amo’s doing sterling work spreading the good word to the people of Stevenage. If current polling is anything to go by, we’ve got a great chance to kick Bibby out, as well as all the other Tories who have made life so miserable.
Here's Amo (middle) with his team in Stevenage town centre, giving people hope that a brighter future is possible.
