Forum Topic

More conspiracy nonsense from a desperately flailing government

There are calls for Maria Caulfield, MP for Lewes and an actual health minister, to refer herself to the ministerial ethics adviser after she sent a leaflet to voters in the recent local elections, claiming that, if elected, the Lib Dem/Greens "want to introduce a road toll system, called 15 min City, introduced in places like Oxford where you will have to pay a congestion charge if you travel by car more than 15 mins from your home. Residents in Oxford now bitterly regret letting the Greens and Lib Dems run their council. Don't let this happen here."This is a particularly silly conspiracy fantasy that was also pushed at the Tory party conference last year by transport minister Mark Harper, and it's a (deliberate?) distortion of an urban planning concept advanced by Carlos Moreno, an advisor to Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, that places are more civilised if most things you need are no further away than a 15 minute walk/cycle.https://www.dezeen.com/2023/10/16/15-minute-city-guide/

Richard Carter ● 407d12 Comments

A couple of examples of rail/car club integration https://ir.avisbudgetgroup.com/news-releases/news-release-details/zipcar-partners-sncf-offer-new-mobility-solution-france
https://www.zipcar.com/press/news/zipcar-partners-with-marta-for-more-car-sharing-locations-along-transit-lines

Michael Ixer ● 405d

I thought the integrated transport model was that the longer part of the journey is done by rail with cars being used for "the last mile" - where a car might be a taxi/uber service or a club car - if ones going somewhere with little public transport. I belive in some continental countries integrated ticketing allows one to book a rail ticket plus Zipcar at you destination station. 

Michael Ixer ● 405d

2030 is the Mayors target for zero-emission buses."Road pricing is the obvious solution"Very expensive to introduce when a simple congestion charge would require minimal cost.Road pricing also promotes short journeys by car which is not the direction we should be heading in.

Ed Robinson ● 405d

"We still have congestion and the vast majority of the buses are still spilling out fumes."Fumes from buses have already decreased and will continue to do so as electric buses are gradually introduced (and Putney Society's citizen science work demonstrates how this is happening), but the problem of congestion will inevitably continue until something is done to deal with the root problem: too many vehicles.Increasing the space available by, for example, widening Putney Bridge (at huge expense), won't work because of inverse traffic evaporation. So, sooner or later the nettle will have to be grasped and restrictions introduced. Road pricing is the obvious solution, but sadly Sadiq has said he won't introduce it. But there are other ideas, like allowing vehicles with even- and odd-numbered registration plates on alternate days. But the car lobby will present a big obstacle to radical change, and it will take real political bravery to face it down.

Richard Carter ● 406d

Yet here we are after another Putney Bridge revamp that still leaves cyclists heading North, having to overtake queues of buses (stopped in the middle of the bridge for no reason), by entering the only non-bus lane.We still have congestion and the vast majority of the buses are still spilling out fumes.There is very little benefits for the ULEZ expansion expenditure.An expansion of the congestion Zone with a moderate charge during peak time (for all private vehicles) would have had better results. But that may have hit the core voter base!

Ed Robinson ● 406d

Yes, it was one of the craziest suggestions - against pretty hot competition - put forward at the anti-ULEZ meeting in the community church a few months ago.

Richard Carter ● 406d

Wasn't there a previous post saying that once we had all been confined to our 15 min cities the rest of the country would be rewilded with angry badgers and wolves?Now that's a conspiracy theory!

Michael Brigo ● 407d

Buses often take more than 15 minutes just to get down the high street and that's off peak! Interesting article in the Guardian - Well interesting timinghttps://www.theguardian.com/money/article/2024/may/13/scrappage-scheme-snarl-ups-leave-motorists-facing-financial-crunch

Ed Robinson ● 407d

> Would be particularly interested in Mr Mothin Ali's views for instance.Bringing this up in every single thread isn't really helping debate. It just smacks of deflection/whataboutery and a refusal to engage with the original topic of the debate.Likewise the childish "I'm sure Starmer will just change his mind!" retort in every thread that mentions Labour.I've no problem discussing the Green Party's problems with one particular candidate, or Labour's supposed flip-flopping when not even in power, in separate threads if you want.I think it was best mentioned elsewhere that Conservative supporters are already resorting to blaming the not-even-in-power Labour Government for the failings of the last 12 years of a Conservative Government. To say that I am looking forward to the collective schadenfreude of those members of this forum is a massive understatement. Roll on the General Election.

John Kettlekey ● 407d

Oops. Hit submit too soon on a bumpy bus!The point here is not really what LibDem or other parties' policies are by the deliberately distribution of disinformation. One assumes that Caulfield know (a) what a 15 minute city is and (b) what road charging is and that thw two are distinctly different? (If she doesn't then in my opinion she's unfit to be an MP.)It's obviously part of a Conservative FUD campaign against: the sowing of fear, uncertainty and doubt. Interestingly,  when trying to promote the cause of cyber/information security the advice was always to avoid the FUD factor and look for something positive for the business to promote to the board as FUD turns people off what you're saying. Perhaps they fact they're resorting to the FUD approach means the Conservatives have nothing positive to say?

Michael Ixer ● 407d

The point here is not really what LibDem or other parties' policies are by the deliberately distribution of disinformation. One assumes tha

Michael Ixer ● 407d

Mr Carter'if elected, the Lib Dem/Greens "want to introduce a road toll system, called 15 min City, introduced in places like Oxford where you will have to pay a congestion charge if you travel by car more than 15 mins from your home. Residents in Oxford now bitterly regret letting the Greens and Lib Dems run their council. Don't let this happen here."'This is a particularly silly conspiracy fantasy that was also pushed at the Tory party conference last year by transport minister Mark Harper'.Much as I am sure your sources of Lib Dem/Greens policy are impeccable, what do the Parties themselves have to say on the matter ?Would be particularly interested in Mr Mothin Ali's views for instance.

John Hawkes ● 407d