News from Elsewhere

George MonbiotWed 16 Sep 2020It’s good entertainment, but that’s all it is. Seeing Boris Johnson ritually dismembered in parliament might make us feel better, but nothing changes. He still has an 80-seat majority, though less than 30% of the electorate voted for the Conservatives. We are reduced, for five long years, to spectators.Our system allows the victorious government a mandate to do what it likes between elections, without further reference to the peopAs we have seen, this can include breaking international law, suspending parliament, curtailing the judiciary, politicising the civil service, attacking the Electoral Commission and invoking royal prerogative powers to make policy without anyone’s consent. This is not democracy, but a parody of democracy

Keeping the UK’s roads safe for active travel and vulnerable users involves using a patchwork of regulation, guidance, codes, orders and powers. As the Highway Code is finally reviewed this autumn, can we create a clearly understood and easily enforceable ‘hierarchy of responsibilities’ that all can get behind? Juliana O’Rourke talked to Ruth Cadbury MP

While the effect of coronavirus continues to hit London hard, one of the few benefits of lockdown was a cleaner, greener city, with less traffic, cleaner air, and more people walking and cycling. 
We want to rebuild a greener Hackney and secure these benefits for future generations

Alexander Naile
Posted on 12 September, 2020My street has recently been swarmed by flyers declaring “Say no to road closures!” zip-tied to lampposts and anywhere else they’ll go. There’s anger at Lambeth’s putting in a Low Traffic Neighbourhood, or LTN, and it’s loud, misplaced and from a minority of the population.

Costing the Earth 
Has lockdown given an opportunity to move towards car-free cities?
Jheni Osman looks at the changes being brought in and

9th September 2020

We want to see physical and societal barriers to cycling removed and one of our key areas of concern are the physical barriers installed by local authorities across cycle paths. Disabled cyclists have been using their knowledge of freedom of information and equality legislation to challenge such barriers with some success. A great example of the process, type of questions and local authority reaction can be reviewed here.

Because equality legislation requires complaints to be made by the person with the protected characteristic, we would advise that only disabled people should use this process for challenging local authorities and only if they cannot physically dismount and walk or carry their cycle (such as a handcyclist). We would love to hear from you if this process has worked for you or if we can put in in touch with someone with experience in challenging local authorities. Please drop us a line here.