6 May 2017
The Green Party has pledged to invest £2bn in renovating and creating safe cycling and walking routes. The funding will be drawn from a cancellation of the Government’s new roads programme which was expected to cost £1.2bn and from environmental taxes which will be used to fight climate change.
The party argues that Government’s walking and cycling investment strategy [1] does not go far enough. The Greens would make a proper commitment to enabling walking and cycling, while redesigning dangerous junctions and roundabouts.
The party’s announcement, its second major announcement on environmental legislation, comes after a plan for cleaning up Britain’s air [2] was launched yesterday (May 5).
Amelia Womack, Green Party deputy leader, announced the policy at an event in Totnes today, where she also launched the South Devon Green Party’s election campaign.
Womack said:
“While the Government dithers around with half measures and evasion, the Green Party is promising to invest in the solutions we know will clean up our air. We want a walking and cycling revolution to replace the diesel fuelled congestion that’s choking Britain.
“The air quality crisis in the UK is now a public health emergency, costing the NHS billions of pounds. But the Green Party has clear policy solutions which will transform our transport system to take us away from diesel, make polluting companies pay, and rapidly roll out renewables.
“It’s a time to be bold and hopeful – yesterday in the local elections we saw the absolute collapse of UKIP while the Green Party won seats up and down the country. People are ready for something new and only the Greens will build the confident and caring country we need to be.”
The party’s general election candidates are Kathryn Driscoll, Andy Williamson, Win Scutt and Jacqi Hodgson, who was also elected as a councillor in yesterday’s local elections.
Notes:
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cycling-and-walking-investment-strategy
- https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2017/05/05/greens-release-air-pollution-challenge-as-government-unveils-plan/
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