I wrote this letter to Scott Mann my North Cornwall Conservative MP today:
Dear Scott,
I hope all is well with you.
I am writing to you about the government road building plans. They are saying in both public statements and on the Gov.uk website that they want a “green and resilient recovery” from the COVID-19 disaster.
At the same time they are planning to spend £27Billion of our money on road building. This BBC report (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-53353258) states that this road building will wipe out most of the gains from increases in electric vehicles. It is now well established that road building is the main cause of more road traffic. Even if there were no climate emergency this would be a bad policy and a waste of resources. In the context of the climate emergency and existing emission reduction commitments this policy is also a breathtaking display of hypocrisy. These sums should be spent on public transport, active travel, broadband and other genuinely green infrastructure.
The government is seriously misjudging the change in public mood on these issues. In the last two months surveys have shown that 71% of adults agree that the climate crisis is as serious as the COVID-19 pandemic, another found that 74% said effective measures to protect citizens from air pollution must be taken even if this requires reallocating public space to walking, cycling and public transport (with just 10% opposed). Meanwhile another showed that 84% said that the protection of nature should be prioritised. These numbers are significant. Even the most tone-deaf government would be unwise to ignore them.
Whilst I can understand that a u-turn on this policy might not look good and would upset some industry lobbies, may I suggest that these plans should be quietly dropped. That would be a good result for both politicians and the planet.
Best wishes,
Yan Swiderski
Survey references:
