PM backs drivers in UK’s traffic pollution fight

BLOOMBERG

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told drivers he is “on their side” as he ordered the Department of Transport to review policies that aim reduce traffic in residential areas and cut carbon emissions, the Telegraph reported.
In an interview with the paper, Sunak said low-traffic neighbourhoods and related efforts fail to take into account how “families live their lives.” The premier added that while he also wants to improve air quality, such policies can displace congestion to neighbouring areas.
“The vast majority of people in the country use their cars to get around and are dependent on their cars,” Sunak said. “I just want to make sure people know that I’m on their side in supporting them to use their cars to do all the things that matter to them.”
During a visit to Wales, he said the opposition Labour Party has become “anti-motorist,” citing programs such as London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone and the Welsh government’s plans to put a 20 mile-per-hour speed limit in all residential areas from September. Low-traffic zones have also been rolled out in cities including Bristol, Oxford and Manchester.
The review could lead to the government intervening to halt existing policies, including issuing guidance to councils that the efforts should be scrapped if they don’t have local support, the Telegraph said.
Sunak, trailing in the polls, has shifted to the right while seeking to keep his Conservative Party in power, signalling a willingness to scale back some environmental commitments.
The party barely held on to Boris Johnson’s former parliamentary seat just west of London, in a special election that was considered a referendum on a plan to expand the city’s low-emission zone there.
In recent days, the UK government vowed to stick to

its ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030 in an attempt to reassure investors in the electric vehicle industry, after Sunak appeared to waver on the policy in recent days.