Sunak’s way out line with opinion with his 20 MPH pledge – politicalbetting.com

He's really flogging the motorist's friend thing in dead horse fashion now and he just doesn't have the charisma to pull it off.

Remember him using a member of the public's car to pretend to fill up at a petrol station. Nobody believes he actually cares about this stuff.

"Research" is overstating it. It's almost as though the whiz kids in No. 10 can't even do a quick Google search before coming up with another load of guff.

If it wouldn't be utterly ridiculous, and possibly also suicidal, another leadership election might not be a bad idea.

Mind you I do want to see Sunak campaiging, it should be at least as entertaining a May was.

Cookie said:

I think the polling on this lacks a little nuance. 20mph on residential streets is one thing, 20mph on arterial S4s and dual carriageways quite another.
As ever, this is solving the wrong problem. The problem is not that 30 is too fast, ut is that a small handful wildly exceed it. I have no problem with traffic passing my house at 30; I get a bit irritated when they go past at 50.

@Dura_Ace isn't going to slow down, irrespective of the speed limit.

Farooq said:

I hate to break it to you but there's been a speed limit petition about this and the results are VERY clear:

Wales has a higher population than India.

Well, they did emigrate. Been reading this lunchtime about a railway to nowhere in the middle of even more FA in Patagonia and what do we find at the end? A bunch of Welsh-speakers.

On topic, that's very outdated polling. There was a big polling majority for staying in the EU 2000-2009, wasn't there? Hell, there was a polling majority in favour of Labour governments for much of that period, too.

I think I've seen more up to date polling on 20mph limits (and in favour) so it's an odd graph to use.

Selebian said:

On topic, that's very outdated polling. There was a big polling majority for staying in the EU 2000-2009, wasn't there? Hell, there was a polling majority in favour of Labour governments for much of that period, too.

I think I've seen more up to date polling on 20mph limits (and in favour) so it's an odd graph to use.

I am in favour of 20mph in many current 30mph zones, but it probably wouldnt shift my vote either way

Andy_JS said:

rottenborough said:

Dianne Feinstein, Oldest Senator and a Fixture of California Politics, Dies at 90

NY Times

RIP. What's the procedure for selecting a new senator?

Picked by the State Governor, stand for election first opportunity.

Sunak is hopeless.

At least Boris had drive, pun intended.

Nigelb said:

Leon said:

@Nigelb

Well jel of your trip to Korea. I’ve been to Seoul and liked it a lot but never been beyond

Any unexpected highlights? Or indeed expected ones?

짜장면 (jJajangmyeon) as ubiquitous fast food. Love it.
Old fashioned food markets - a hangover from before the economy became first world.
The guys in the bulgogi restaurants agreeing to prep vegetarian dishes for my wife (after initial bemusement).
An AirBnb with roof terrace in Seoul.
The cheerful septuagenarians overtaking us on the way up Hallasan.
Laundrette ajuma discussing 90s K-folk music with my wife...

Lots of inconsequential stuff that was as interesting as the museums; palaces; temples etc.

"The details of my life are quite inconsequential."

rcs1000 said:

Cookie said:

I think the polling on this lacks a little nuance. 20mph on residential streets is one thing, 20mph on arterial S4s and dual carriageways quite another.
As ever, this is solving the wrong problem. The problem is not that 30 is too fast, ut is that a small handful wildly exceed it. I have no problem with traffic passing my house at 30; I get a bit irritated when they go past at 50.

@Dura_Ace isn't going to slow down, irrespective of the speed limit.

Seems to be PB's tame Russian Troll

(but this is your barbeque @rcs1000 !)

TimS said:

He's really flogging the motorist's friend thing in dead horse fashion now and he just doesn't have the charisma to pull it off.

Remember him using a member of the public's car to pretend to fill up at a petrol station. Nobody believes he actually cares about this stuff.

Rishi "son-in-law of an Indian oligarch" Sunak.

Selebian said:

On topic, that's very outdated polling. There was a big polling majority for staying in the EU 2000-2009, wasn't there? Hell, there was a polling majority in favour of Labour governments for much of that period, too.

I think I've seen more up to date polling on 20mph limits (and in favour) so it's an odd graph to use.

This is one of the problems with searching for things on the internet in recent years - there's a lot more old stuff than new stuff. It's often relatively easy to find a news story related to the topic, and to find some data related to the topic, but the most frequent data in your search results will be old data, and it can be really hard to find the most recent data, or even for the search to return the original source of the data.

Well now.

"Las Vegas police arrest man in connection with murder of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996"

Depends which poll you look at, this Yougov poll had 38% opposed. Including 52% of Conservative voters

https://yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/survey-results/daily/2022/07/14/874c7/3

carnforth said:

Well now.

"Las Vegas police arrest man in connection with murder of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996"

A music fan ?

AlsoLei said:

Selebian said:

On topic, that's very outdated polling. There was a big polling majority for staying in the EU 2000-2009, wasn't there? Hell, there was a polling majority in favour of Labour governments for much of that period, too.

I think I've seen more up to date polling on 20mph limits (and in favour) so it's an odd graph to use.

Sure, but the results have been pretty stable over time. This question is now part of the National Transport Attitudes survey rather than BSA, and the most recent data I easily found was from 2020:



I don't see any reason why it would have changed significantly since then.

Is there polling on "speed limits of 30mph in residential streets"?

biggles said:

Yeah, you’re not reading into this thread header two basic principles of understanding surveys when you’re asking about virtuous stuff:

a) people lie (even when anonymous) and give the “right answer”; and

b) what people think is right for their road, on which their kids play, is different from what they think about the road they drive down elsewhere.

See, statistical analysis lessons passim.

It’s one of those subjects where the exact wording of the question can make a huge difference to the answer.

Small roads around a housing estate might be one person’s view of “residential streets”, as opposed to the main road through a small town or village.

Lennon said:

jamesdoyle said:

TheKitchenCabinet said:

rottenborough said:

Andy_JS said:

rottenborough said:

Dianne Feinstein, Oldest Senator and a Fixture of California Politics, Dies at 90

NY Times

RIP. What's the procedure for selecting a new senator?

"Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will chose someone to fill her seat." NY Times

That is going to be interesting given how many their put their names forward

It's separate to the regular election which is going on at the moment. Newsom has already said he'll appoint a black woman, and that he doesn't want to influence the eventual election; so that almost certainly means a caretaker who'll serve out the remainder of the term (until end of next year) and then step aside.

Cue appointing Kamala Harris and giving Biden an excuse to replace her on the ticket next year?

No way, it’s time for Markle to sparkle.

AlsoLei said:

RobD said:

AlsoLei said:

Selebian said:

On topic, that's very outdated polling. There was a big polling majority for staying in the EU 2000-2009, wasn't there? Hell, there was a polling majority in favour of Labour governments for much of that period, too.

I think I've seen more up to date polling on 20mph limits (and in favour) so it's an odd graph to use.

Sure, but the results have been pretty stable over time. This question is now part of the National Transport Attitudes survey rather than BSA, and the most recent data I easily found was from 2020:



I don't see any reason why it would have changed significantly since then.

Is there polling on "speed limits of 30mph in residential streets"?

Adequately captured by "not in favour", I'd have thought. Are there many residential streets in built-up areas with a higher limit?

The delta between the two would have been interesting. I suspect the numbers would have been quite similar.

rcs1000 said:

Cookie said:

I think the polling on this lacks a little nuance. 20mph on residential streets is one thing, 20mph on arterial S4s and dual carriageways quite another.
As ever, this is solving the wrong problem. The problem is not that 30 is too fast, ut is that a small handful wildly exceed it. I have no problem with traffic passing my house at 30; I get a bit irritated when they go past at 50.

@Dura_Ace isn't going to slow down, irrespective of the speed limit.

Well quite. The problem isn't the rules, it's that people don't follow them.
Actually, the problem isn't that people don't follow the rules, it's that people's reaction to that is to tighten the rules, rather than to enforce them.

Regardless of the merits or otherwise of 20mph on residential streets, what business is it of Sunak's? If local councils (or the Welsh government) impose them, then voters can exercise their views via the ballot box (as they did in Brighton recently, to an extent).
Democracy is a key British value, Rishi.

Sandpit said:

TheKitchenCabinet said:

rottenborough said:

Andy_JS said:

rottenborough said:

Dianne Feinstein, Oldest Senator and a Fixture of California Politics, Dies at 90

NY Times

RIP. What's the procedure for selecting a new senator?

"Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will chose someone to fill her seat." NY Times

That is going to be interesting given how many their put their names forward

There’s a lot of people who want that Senate seat, it’s a job for life at the moment - hence Feinstein and Pelosi.

A few names mentioned in this obituary.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=kr_F0h5k7Og

More than that - whoever Newson appoints will be the presumptive nominee for the next election. Without having to go through the whole party selection process - which would normally be a bitter battle between many rivals.

Northern_Al said:

Regardless of the merits or otherwise of 20mph on residential streets, what business is it of Sunak's? If local councils (or the Welsh government) impose them, then voters can exercise their views via the ballot box (as they did in Brighton recently, to an extent).
Democracy is a key British value, Rishi.

I take your point, but residential streets are a bit different. Absent signs, we all assume 30. Is that now true in Wales or should I assume 20? I don’t know the answer, and unlike the Scottish border, England/Wales can be streets apart.

For some roads I think you need a national standard. See also motorways and dual carriageways.

AlsoLei said:

Selebian said:

On topic, that's very outdated polling. There was a big polling majority for staying in the EU 2000-2009, wasn't there? Hell, there was a polling majority in favour of Labour governments for much of that period, too.

I think I've seen more up to date polling on 20mph limits (and in favour) so it's an odd graph to use.

Sure, but the results have been pretty stable over time. This question is now part of the National Transport Attitudes survey rather than BSA, and the most recent data I easily found was from 2020:



I don't see any reason why it would have changed significantly since then.

That’s a pretty leading question

biggles said:

Northern_Al said:

Regardless of the merits or otherwise of 20mph on residential streets, what business is it of Sunak's? If local councils (or the Welsh government) impose them, then voters can exercise their views via the ballot box (as they did in Brighton recently, to an extent).
Democracy is a key British value, Rishi.

I take your point, but residential streets are a bit different. Absent signs, we all assume 30. Is that now true in Wales or should I assume 20? I don’t know the answer, and unlike the Scottish border, England/Wales can be streets apart.

For some roads I think you need a national standard. See also motorways and dual carriageways.

Scottish Borders are 20mph, courtesy the local Tories.

Re Prime Ministers and transport policy - complete with obligatory Brunelian reference (as discussed yesterday, not a happy precursor):

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12575763/BORIS-JOHNSON-not-scrap-hs2-manchester-leg.html

'The same principle could be applied in Manchester, where it is estimated that the northern leg would unleash growth worth £100 billion. We simply cannot afford to abandon this vision now — to panic, and throw up our hands, and say it is all too difficult.'

On the subject of 20mph, I heard the other day through work that one of the main reasons safety people are keen on 20mph is that electric vehicles weigh more. It makes sense, though I guess those in favour of the limit don't want to make this argument as it will annoy people who don't like electric vehicles.

On another subject...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-66942594

A 17-year-old boy has appeared in court charged with murdering 15-year-old Elianne Andam in south London.

The boy, who cannot legally be named because of his age, is also charged with possessing a kitchen knife in a public place without good reason.

If votes are going to be given to 16 and 17 year olds, then this law needs to change as well.

darkage said:

I am pretty certain a child fatality will soon be identified which would have been avoided if the speed limit was reduced to 20. That will be the end of this policy.

Except that there will be other fatalities where it would be avoided if it was 10. So why not 10, or 5 like in a packed building site?

The answer is that we train drivers properly and hold them to account. 30 (or 20) is the maximum speed limit. You go more slowly depending on risk. Trying to police that with ever changing, specific speeds for specific areas is silly.

But I take the point above, where it be done and not be confusing we can devolve the decision.

(Allowing for the fact that my actual preference is to abolish local Government altogether).

Malmesbury said:

Sandpit said:

TheKitchenCabinet said:

rottenborough said:

Andy_JS said:

rottenborough said:

Dianne Feinstein, Oldest Senator and a Fixture of California Politics, Dies at 90

NY Times

RIP. What's the procedure for selecting a new senator?

"Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will chose someone to fill her seat." NY Times

That is going to be interesting given how many their put their names forward

There’s a lot of people who want that Senate seat, it’s a job for life at the moment - hence Feinstein and Pelosi.

A few names mentioned in this obituary.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=kr_F0h5k7Og

More than that - whoever Newson appoints will be the presumptive nominee for the next election. Without having to go through the whole party selection process - which would normally be a bitter battle between many rivals.

No, they won't. Newsom has said he won't taint the (already underway) election campaign by appointing someone other than a caretaker.

tlg86 said:

On another subject...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-66942594

A 17-year-old boy has appeared in court charged with murdering 15-year-old Elianne Andam in south London.

The boy, who cannot legally be named because of his age, is also charged with possessing a kitchen knife in a public place without good reason.

If votes are going to be given to 16 and 17 year olds, then this law needs to change as well.

Sounds like a disappointed ‘lover’ or something similar to me.
“If i can’t have you, nobody else will!”
Sadly, in a fortnight or so, another love would have come along!

Tragic.

jamesdoyle said:

Malmesbury said:

Sandpit said:

TheKitchenCabinet said:

rottenborough said:

Andy_JS said:

rottenborough said:

Dianne Feinstein, Oldest Senator and a Fixture of California Politics, Dies at 90

NY Times

RIP. What's the procedure for selecting a new senator?

"Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will chose someone to fill her seat." NY Times

That is going to be interesting given how many their put their names forward

There’s a lot of people who want that Senate seat, it’s a job for life at the moment - hence Feinstein and Pelosi.

A few names mentioned in this obituary.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=kr_F0h5k7Og

More than that - whoever Newson appoints will be the presumptive nominee for the next election. Without having to go through the whole party selection process - which would normally be a bitter battle between many rivals.

No, they won't. Newsom has said he won't taint the (already underway) election campaign by appointing someone other than a caretaker.

What a shame Barry Chuckle passed away a few years ago. If I know him and Paul like I think I do, they would've loved to step up in a caretaker capacity.

Carnyx said:

Re Prime Ministers and transport policy - complete with obligatory Brunelian reference (as discussed yesterday, not a happy precursor):

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12575763/BORIS-JOHNSON-not-scrap-hs2-manchester-leg.html

'The same principle could be applied in Manchester, where it is estimated that the northern leg would unleash growth worth £100 billion. We simply cannot afford to abandon this vision now — to panic, and throw up our hands, and say it is all too difficult.'

From same Boris piece:

In the universities of ­Beijing, they teach a course in political science in which they dwell — as you might expect — on the ­disadvantages of democracy.

To prove to their avid communist ­students that democratically elected ­politicians are chronically unable to take decisions that are in the interests of the whole nation, the Chinese politics ­professors have a text from the UK. It is a story, they say, that tells you all you need to know about political weakness, about chopping and changing, and craven short-term decision making.

Yup — their theme is HS2, where the contrast with Chinese high-speed rail is already embarrassing, if not frankly ­humiliating.

Heathener said:

And another 20% Labour lead in today's latest opinion poll.

Wow, Sunak's doing well ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_United_Kingdom_general_election

But will LAB be 20% ahead in the GE exit poll??

Cookie said:

Northern_Al said:

Regardless of the merits or otherwise of 20mph on residential streets, what business is it of Sunak's? If local councils (or the Welsh government) impose them, then voters can exercise their views via the ballot box (as they did in Brighton recently, to an extent).
Democracy is a key British value, Rishi.

I'm fairly sure Lancashire County Council (which covers a population not that much smallet than that of Wales) introduced something similar a few years back to almost no reaction whatsoever.
But then, Lancashire County Council don't have Mark Drakeford.

They did?

News to me if so, and I drive a lot in Lancashire.

Maybe if they did it was in cul de sacs only and not through roads, which is entirely reasonable. Or maybe you've got wrong end of the stick?

Pretty solid 60% support for keeping triple lock pensions in Mail survey.

TheKitchenCabinet said:

rottenborough said:

Andy_JS said:

rottenborough said:

Dianne Feinstein, Oldest Senator and a Fixture of California Politics, Dies at 90

NY Times

RIP. What's the procedure for selecting a new senator?

"Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will chose someone to fill her seat." NY Times

That is going to be interesting given how many their put their names forward

I have had to withdraw my name. Candidly, America is not ready for my genius.

Sandpit said:

Nigelb said:

The jockeying for Dianne Feinstein’s seat has already begun

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/29/feinstein-death-senate-seat-contest-00119079
...Newsom has committed to selecting a Black woman but said he would choose a short-term replacement rather than elevate one of the candidates running to replace Feinstein. That creates a complicated political calculation: Newsom must find a candidate who is both qualified for the job but would also be satisfied with a brief tenure and willing to give up any current elected position...

Newsom may think he’s appointing a caretaker, but you can bet that whoever he does appoint will very much want to be in the race for the permanent seat.

He can pretty easily avoid that. They've only got until early December to file for the Senate race anyway, and he simply gets them to immediately publicly pledge they are doing it for one year only. Is that legally binding? Not technically, but they'd need to do the dirty so quickly and obviously that their credibility would be ruined.

I don't know that this is being written up as all that much of a problem for Newsom. It's the largest state in the US with a deep Democrat bench. He's boxed himself in slightly with a pledge to choose a black female candidate, but even with that limitation on his range of options there's absolutely bound to be a few retired congresswomen, state senators, Berkeley professors or whoever who'll do a perfectly competent turn for 12 months, get their name on the honours board, thank Gavin profusely, and return to relative obscurity. It's a nice gig.

Cookie said:

Northern_Al said:

Regardless of the merits or otherwise of 20mph on residential streets, what business is it of Sunak's? If local councils (or the Welsh government) impose them, then voters can exercise their views via the ballot box (as they did in Brighton recently, to an extent).
Democracy is a key British value, Rishi.

I'm fairly sure Lancashire County Council (which covers a population not that much smallet than that of Wales) introduced something similar a few years back to almost no reaction whatsoever.
But then, Lancashire County Council don't have Mark Drakeford.

Please, show some respect. It's "The Drake".

LostPassword said:

Selebian said:

On topic, that's very outdated polling. There was a big polling majority for staying in the EU 2000-2009, wasn't there? Hell, there was a polling majority in favour of Labour governments for much of that period, too.

I think I've seen more up to date polling on 20mph limits (and in favour) so it's an odd graph to use.

This is one of the problems with searching for things on the internet in recent years - there's a lot more old stuff than new stuff. It's often relatively easy to find a news story related to the topic, and to find some data related to the topic, but the most frequent data in your search results will be old data, and it can be really hard to find the most recent data, or even for the search to return the original source of the data.

Made worse by Google's decision to remove the "sort by date" option. However under "tools" you do have the option to specify the date range,

jamesdoyle said:

Malmesbury said:

Sandpit said:

TheKitchenCabinet said:

rottenborough said:

Andy_JS said:

rottenborough said:

Dianne Feinstein, Oldest Senator and a Fixture of California Politics, Dies at 90

NY Times

RIP. What's the procedure for selecting a new senator?

"Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will chose someone to fill her seat." NY Times

That is going to be interesting given how many their put their names forward

There’s a lot of people who want that Senate seat, it’s a job for life at the moment - hence Feinstein and Pelosi.

A few names mentioned in this obituary.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=kr_F0h5k7Og

More than that - whoever Newson appoints will be the presumptive nominee for the next election. Without having to go through the whole party selection process - which would normally be a bitter battle between many rivals.

No, they won't. Newsom has said he won't taint the (already underway) election campaign by appointing someone other than a caretaker.

He can’t unappoint - whoever gets it will be the incumbent with a vast advantage.

Heathener said:

boulay said:

Heathener said:

Sunak is hopeless.

At least Boris had drive, pun intended.

He must be gutted to be so hopeless. He’s just a millionaire who married a billionaire and became PM after a successful career and a high achieving university education. I guess as he looks down from his helicopter a tiny tear rolls down his tiny face thinking he could have achieved the state of keeping boiled water in a thermos and haranguing people with his stick in supermarkets. What a loser he is.

Rather an unnecessarily snide response, if I may say but de rigueur for the macho posturing on here, which is why I seldom frequent the site after my morning cuppa.

I have had huge success in my life if we assess a life by such measures as public profile, influence, impact etc. but you know nothing of this because I never talk about it, and remain behind a VPN.

Of course, I didn't marry a husband with millions upon millions and nor did I become a member of parliament. But, then, I have little but contempt for both. They do not bring happiness.

Nevertheless, we must judge people according to what they set out to achieve. As a Prime Minister (if not as a husband, father, wealth inheritor, wealth creator, Wykehamist, mathematician, headboy) Rishi Sunak is an abysmal failure. One of the worst Prime Ministers of my lifetime, even by recent low standards. An unelected Prime Minister who is utterly useless at the one job by which we, the ordinary voter, must assess him.

On the only thing which actually now matters: the job for which he will be marked, he gets 0/100.

You shouldn’t let life get to you like this. Have a cup of tea and not an aneurism.

Malmesbury said:

jamesdoyle said:

Malmesbury said:

Sandpit said:

TheKitchenCabinet said:

rottenborough said:

Andy_JS said:

rottenborough said:

Dianne Feinstein, Oldest Senator and a Fixture of California Politics, Dies at 90

NY Times

RIP. What's the procedure for selecting a new senator?

"Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will chose someone to fill her seat." NY Times

That is going to be interesting given how many their put their names forward

There’s a lot of people who want that Senate seat, it’s a job for life at the moment - hence Feinstein and Pelosi.

A few names mentioned in this obituary.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=kr_F0h5k7Og

More than that - whoever Newson appoints will be the presumptive nominee for the next election. Without having to go through the whole party selection process - which would normally be a bitter battle between many rivals.

No, they won't. Newsom has said he won't taint the (already underway) election campaign by appointing someone other than a caretaker.

He can’t unappoint - whoever gets it will be the incumbent with a vast advantage.

The filing deadline for the California Senate race is early December. If Newsom makes it clear that his choice has committed to not running, they realistically aren't running.

The likelihood is, anyway, that he'll choose a senior worthy who honestly isn't bothered about trying to pull a fast one for the chance of a six year term and is just pleased to get on the honours board.

People are over-complicating a relatively straightforward issue for Newsom (that he's had plenty of time to think about as Feinstein hasn't been the very picture of health.

The idea Gen Z are all vegetarian and vegan is bullshit.

I've just seen a sign-up list of 65 of them for an event I'm running that asks about special dietary requirements and only 9 are vegetarian or vegan (only 4 are vegan).

Everyone else? Normal.

biggles said:

Northern_Al said:

Regardless of the merits or otherwise of 20mph on residential streets, what business is it of Sunak's? If local councils (or the Welsh government) impose them, then voters can exercise their views via the ballot box (as they did in Brighton recently, to an extent).
Democracy is a key British value, Rishi.

I take your point, but residential streets are a bit different. Absent signs, we all assume 30. Is that now true in Wales or should I assume 20? I don’t know the answer, and unlike the Scottish border, England/Wales can be streets apart.

For some roads I think you need a national standard. See also motorways and dual carriageways.

In Wales, if you can see streetlights and houses assume it's 20.

Same in London:


(green lines are 20mph, blue are 30. That map is 3 years old - all of the remaining blue lines in Camden, Islington, Hackney, Haringey, Tower Hamlets, and the northern sections of Lambeth and Southwark have now green.

Sunak focusing on the jeans and jacket Top Gear crowd.

Those who would prefer not to have their kids mown down by a 4x4? Feck 'em.

biggles said:

darkage said:

I am pretty certain a child fatality will soon be identified which would have been avoided if the speed limit was reduced to 20. That will be the end of this policy.

Except that there will be other fatalities where it would be avoided if it was 10. So why not 10, or 5 like in a packed building site?

The answer is that we train drivers properly and hold them to account. 30 (or 20) is the maximum speed limit. You go more slowly depending on risk. Trying to police that with ever changing, specific speeds for specific areas is silly.

But I take the point above, where it be done and not be confusing we can devolve the decision.

(Allowing for the fact that my actual preference is to abolish local Government altogether).

I think the error you are making is appealing to truth and reason. That is long gone - we are living in an age of absurdity.

One thing that can be observed is how 'panic' is increasingly driving government policy. We've seen this with building safety and fire safety. The vulnerability with highway safety is the same. You just have one bereaved parent and a gruesome child fatality and it becomes impossible to do anything other than reduce the speed limit to 20, or 10, or even 5, because anyone who gets in the way of the change is basically a child murderer.

StillWaters said:

AlsoLei said:

Selebian said:

On topic, that's very outdated polling. There was a big polling majority for staying in the EU 2000-2009, wasn't there? Hell, there was a polling majority in favour of Labour governments for much of that period, too.

I think I've seen more up to date polling on 20mph limits (and in favour) so it's an odd graph to use.

Sure, but the results have been pretty stable over time. This question is now part of the National Transport Attitudes survey rather than BSA, and the most recent data I easily found was from 2020:



I don't see any reason why it would have changed significantly since then.

That’s a pretty leading question

"To what extent are you in favour of having speed limits of 20 miles per hour in residential streets?"

How is that leading?

boulay said:

nico679 said:

Instead of trying to tackle the big issues the poisoned dwarf is droning on about 20 mph zones .

Maybe the public might be realizing this too and the more deflection he attempts the more this leads to even more voter anger at the waste of space .

Do 20mph zones affect more of the population day to day than 7% of the school age population? Just checking what is a bigger issue between VAT on private school fees or national speed limits so I know which leader is focussing on big issues. Thanks in advance.

You know just as most of the public do that Sunak is just chucking out a policy a day in desperation . Why would he care about motorists when he only travels by helicopter !