I’m sure someone else will come along to address the rest, but this part is completely wrong.
Firstly, LTNs have nothing to do with Sadiq Khan. It is entirely the decision of the local council. But no, if you’re a local resident, then an LTN doesn’t restrict access to you. It just means that other drivers cannot use your road as a shortcut.
Secondly, part of the point of policies like these is to make it hard to drive in London. Look at this report for more details, but 35% of all car journeys in London are <2km (1.25mi) long, which is easily walkable. Another 32% are between 2 and 5km long. There is only so much space in London, sooner or later, you’re going to have to reckon with the fact that cars are a terribly inefficient mode of transport in terms of space.
Thirdly, car use is dominated by the rich. That same report details how car use correlates with income. Poor people cannot afford cars to begin with. Poor people overwhelmingly use public transport. Cars take up space where public transport like buses can go.
Fourth, ULEZ affects far fewer people than imagined. If I’m not wrong, the latest ULEZ expansion was estimated to affect less than 5% of the cars on the road. While it might disproportionately affect relatively poorer people in terms of the car-owning and using population, they are still as a rule generally richer than the non-car owning and using population.
Fifth, your local station running out of funds to get a lift is entirely down to the lack of funding by the Conservative government. They cut off funding to TfL when Khan was elected as Mayor of London. Your views show exactly why they did that.
With the LTNs in Ealing, it was Labour run council who did this without consulting the community and it caused havoc. Sadiq Khan supported LTNs. My auntie lives alone and is housebound, her carer couldn’t find a parking near her house because of LTN, a 10 minute Journey to here house took more than half an hour and groceries could not be delivered in time.
For the record, I have not had a car for the last 12 years.
If the Mayor is trying stop car usage in London, he needs to improve transport links.
Casual observer here, as I don’t live in the UK any more, but just wanted to say well done to Maria for expressing your frustrations with it all.
The questions you pose are valid, and will hopefully have answers.
It’s not enough to simply vote to get the Tories out. People have to be for something, not just against something.
In a parallel universe across the pond I face a similar issue. The main objective in voting, for me, is to not see Donald Trump return to power. He is awful beyond belief and must be stopped. I’m not as disillusioned with the Democrats as you are with Labour, so my vote will still be for them, but in comparison to how I felt about previous voting cycles, the whole thing is a bit meh. Biden is old and past it, and as such is uninspiring. He should have retired years ago, but I will likely be going into the voting booth to cast my vote for him again, even though I’d rather have another choice.
That’s the FPTP system for you. I end up voting for whoever is likely to keep the Tories out.
I’d still like to say that not all Conservatives are bad but I think that boat has sailed. Just take them at plain sight: a wretched hive of scum and villainy.
There are two reasons why you are not going to get any big ‘vision for Britain’ stuff from Labour until the election is called and manifestos are published.
It serves absolutely no purpose to Labour. Any thing they announce is only going to be used to knock them. And also, as has happened, anything popular just gets nicked by the Tories. So strategically speaking they are better off keeping quiet.
Labour know full well that they are inheriting an absolutely skip fire, and the full extent of the damage that the Tory’s have done may not even be fully apparent yet. Starmer cannot go to the country making promises he cannot possibly keep.
A large number of issues plaguing UK are systemic issues which go back all the way to even the “prosperous” Blair times.
Labour doesn’t inspire Brits with confidence the same way Congress doesnt for India and the Democrats for USA.
Speaking for all democratic countries which face similar issues
People might subscribe to quite a lot of conservative values (mainly fiscal policies) but not to their other madcap ideas.
It’s about making the trade-off with yourself as to what values are non-compromisable and then make the decision to vote.
Personally, I think Starmer’s initial stance on Israel has damaged him. He can’t be speaking with empathy on the Homefront and then back genocidal actions that Israel does.
But what’s almost certain is that unless the present incumbent govt have done things which have benefited you, people in the middle need to give someone else a chance. Continuing for 14 odd years of one govt only enables overconfidence from the ruling party.
I’d say that a lot of Labour’s traditional support is quite socially conservative but prefers fiscal policies that will provide security for them.
For most of those people, whilst they might have sympathy with people in the middle east, they probably aren’t that bothered about government policy on it.
So not Sadiq Khan’s creation then. Any changes to how people move around is always going to cause disruption. LTNs are proven to work in decreasing car traffic and improving air quality.
Maybe her carer should avoid driving then. For what it’s worth, I don’t see how an LTN changes where her carer may find parking or not. Your example actually shows that’s precisely how LTNs are meant to work.
In what way are transport links in Ealing lacking? Since you have not had a car for the last 12 years, I presume you must have managed to visit your aunt by public transport somehow. What stops your aunt’s carer from doing the same?
6.5% of the population of UK is muslim. That’s a sizable vote that might now decide to vote conservative. It’s not that Conservatives have done anything to aid the palestine issue but Starmer’s initial own goal was entirely avoidable.
OR they’ll be guided by their emotions on the Israel-Palestine issue. A large chunk of people do vote on the basis of emotions at that particular time.
You mean the Conservative Party that is even more hard-line on supporting Netanyahu? It’s ridiculous how Labour gets so much press about this issue, but the fact that the Conservatives are even more pro-Netanyahu gets glossed over.
Well sure , but the conservatives aren’t the ones who are pretending to be anti netanyahu. I’m talking about emotional issues when it comes to these matters and logic etc takes a back step then
I notice no one has answered any question of Maria’s questions other than “but the Tories” which kinda proves her point.
It’s the same argument we’ve had in NI since 1998- you have to vote DUP or SF (depending on who you hate the most). Voting for any other party is a gift to the side you hate. And it’s got us fucking nowhere. I’ve never voted for either
Also I do wish there are credible leaders around in all the countries. Atleast leaders who say something more than I’m not trump, so please vote for me
When Labour came into power in 1997. I was so ecstatic, we were dancing in streets celebrating. Labour were this party with new and thoughtful ideas. I had hope, my whole family and friends, our street had hope. There was this huge buzz, that the country was going to change for the better, I believed in everything said and did (except the war in Iraq). The party had a cross section of MPs in the cabinet from north, and south, not just London centric.
With this Labour party 2024, I don’t see anything for me to get enthusiastic about, you see my point? I think I am in the same dilemma as you as well.
I am not the only one moaning, everyone I know is fed up with both parties, regardless of their voting habits. London, is largely Labour voting city, I think, correct me anyone if I am wrong.
Yeah. But this is going to be a tight election. Any fracturing in the muslim vote on this is going to help the conservatives. Depends on what steps Starmer takes to address this. You would be knowing the punjabi votebank and the role they play in Canadian politics. This can be a similar issue.