The 'golden age' of cycling never materialised - but the UK general election represents a second chance

The biggest news - in the UK - last Wednesday was not Georg Steinhauser of EF Education-EasyPost claiming a stage win at the Giro d’Italia, but instead, the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, calling a general election.

Adam Becket

News editor at Cycling Weekly, Adam brings his weekly opinion on the goings on at the upper echelons of our sport. This piece is part of The Leadout, a newsletter series from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. As ever, email adam.becket@futurenet.com - should you wish to add anything, or suggest a topic.

On the same day as stage six of the Tour de France - July 4th - the UK will go to the polls and choose a new government. There has already been one impact on cycling in this country, that the proposed “dangerous cycling” laws will not be enacted, but there will be bigger repercussions to come.

This general election is a chance for a cycling revolution in this country. It has been promised before but little delivered. That “golden age” which Boris Johnson promised in 2019 could finally be around the corner, if things go in the right direction.

Before the manifestos come out, it is difficult to know how prominently cycling - and active travel in general - will feature in the plans of Labour or the Conservatives, but given the Conservative government’s talk of a “war on motorists” and recent cuts to cycling and walking budgets, it seems fair to say that the blue party is unlikely to come out as cycling’s best supporter.

The Labour Party’s stance is a bit more of a mystery. Its “five missions” includes a pledge for safe streets, but that is about crime rather than less dangerous roads. It has been more vocal and achieving net zero and tackling climate change, however, so it is likely that active travel will have a big part to play.

Other parties, most notably the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, have more of a credible track record in supporting cycling, but these two, going by current polling, are unlikely to play a role in the next government. It is Labour who will seemingly have the opportunity to reshape our roads.

Rather than predict and analyse what might be in manifestos, I thought it would be better to lay out what I would like to see from the incoming government - purely to do with cycling, obviously.

Invest the original promised money into active travel

Everything comes down to money. Last year, the Conservative government announced plans to cut its promised investment in cycling and walking infrastructure. It was estimated it amounted to a cut of around two thirds.

At the time, the Walking and Cycling Alliance said: “Promised government targets of 50% of all journeys in English towns and cities being walked or cycled by 2030, and for the UK to be Net Zero by 2050, are made impossible by these cuts.”

For the UK to truly be a cycling nation, money needs to be provided to local and national bodies to build cycling infrastructure, and to get people on two wheels and out of cars.

Fix the pothole problem

This is connected to the money issue, but the UK’s roads are in a dangerous state of disrepair. Any incoming government needs to fix the funding crisis in local government, and allow roads to be fixed. They are at "breaking point" due to potholes, with £16.3 billion needed to fix them all, according to the Asphalt Industry Alliance.

Ensure dangerous drivers are punished

Over the past 14 years the Conservatives have repeatedly promised various reviews into dangerous driving offences, but nothing has ever really changed. All too often, we hear stories of drivers getting off lightly after hitting cyclists. Things like pavement parking, and general antisocial driving, should be targeted too.

End the culture wars

It has proved an easy strategy for the Conservatives and their friends in the right-wing media to bash cyclists over the last decade, and this shows no sign of abating. Recent headlines about “killer cyclists” - projecting people on bikes as inherently dangerous - create bigger risks for us. Painting cyclists as the problem makes the most vulnerable among us even more open to anger from drivers. The next government needs to stop fueling this fire with talk of the “war on drivers”.

Local councils should feel emboldened to use low traffic neighbourhoods or other traffic calming measures without fear of reprisal; 15 minutes cities, here we come.

Reduce car use

It is my long-held belief that the private car is at the heart of our society’s problems. Rampant individualism is directly linked to people believing that their car is freedom. Getting people out of their vehicles and onto bikes would create a better world in so many ways, from improving public health to reducing carbon emissions, but it would also create a better community for us all. Any steps to reduce car use, then, are good in my book.