[David9694]

I posted an earlier version of this a while back – inspired to do update following THAT discussion about all things ULEZ. 

The “manifesto”, in terms of transport, only mentions stopping HS2, but there’s plenty on the usual right-wing obsessions: Brexit, immigration, veterans and climate change.  I had another look because I worry about the ongoing decline of the two main political parties. 

If the Cons stay wedded to Brexit, then we will go into the next GE with all the widespread impoverishment Brexit has ushered in – not helped by Covid, Putin, etc. People generally vote according to their pockets.  I don’t get Labour’s current position on Europe either, but let’s see how that evolves, and even the Cons may also evolve, or even pivot, but time is already running out for them.

Several roads now lead to the horrors of a further lurch to the right in this country.  Let’s hope Labour get the GE landslide the polls are predicting – but we’re still at least a year out from the real campaigning beginning. 

A cycling angle? With the Reform Party and its ilk, Facebook Steve and Nextdoor Dave attain real political influence. It’s not spelt out in the manifesto, but you can see where this is probably heading and what it is likely to mean for cycling.  You can bet that this lot are very much “on the side of hard working drivers” etc. 

As you all know, Dave’s going to “sort the traffic” and no doubt show them lazy planners how it’s done: Steve thinks the Council are corrupt, the police blinkered and is, if he can fit it in to his busy schedule he’s going to “teach them Lycra’s a thing or two.” It won’t concern him that his Mondeo is 3 months out of MoT or that Mrs Steve sometimes drives the kids in it uninsured. 

As vulnerable road users, vulnerable people, we rely a great deal on the rule of law for protection. The rule of law means that we understand what the laws are, they are in general fair, and how they are applied and to whom is even-handed and consistent. 

The fascist position is broadly the opposite – it’s all off-the-cuff to support today’s particular agenda – that’s why the Iain Duncan-Smith “happy to see ULEZ infra vandalised” comment is, as an example, so very worrying.  In the Conservatives, here is a party happy to send signals to enable the mob to attack RNLI stations, beat up immigrants, shout at teachers, doctors etc. 

This right-wing stuff works by allowing/enabling significant privileged groups to to think of themselves as the downtrodden underdog and here is a way to fight back.  The pro Brexit campaign played on people’s ignorance, fears and prejudices exactly as this does. 

It’s all about freedom, innit, less regulation, less tax burden, and damn the climate.  There’s more polar bears now, so it’s fine.  Let’s have open-cast coal mining, lithium mining and fracking. The section on climate change stumbles around like a Friday night drunk, trying to explain he wasn’t being racist to the barman – a denier position emerges, unsurprisingly.

In places, the mask really slips: “We must keep divisive woke ideologies such as Critical Race Theory (CRT) and gender ideology out of the classroom.” – to be honest, I don’t even know what those two are.

The standard enemies are put up – the civil service, the BBC.  Amid all the thrust and parry, there’s nothing  about making a better, more inclusive and cohesive world to live in; arts, sports and culture don’t feature in this barstool view of the world: a dullard’s grim vision.

Don’t be a member of the wrong sort of minority would be my advice, should any of this come to pass. 
 

https://www.reformparty.uk/reformisessential

Topic

[David9694]

And I don’t mean to say that

And I don’t mean to say that cyclists are in for any of this; my prediction there is a position of “we’ll tolerate you on certain conditions – but don’t ask for any special treatment and if you get hurt it’s your own silly fault”.  Don’t forget that (simultaneously) car is king and drivers are a persecuted group. 

Those conditions will include helmets and hi viz, mandatory use of “perfectly good” cycle lanes for starters.  If that works out, then insurance and registration will likely follow.  As I’ve said before, they’re pledged to remove most 20 mphs, so expect the same with “unpopular” bus gates.  This is why LTNs and bus gates need to be concreted in – now. 

PS I overlooked in the earlier story about the Reform councillor asking a town council to take down a Pride flag – there was an informer involved there too. It doesn’t take long, does it. 

[Rendel Harris]

David9694 wrote:

Let’s be clear on this stuff – one you’ve decided that there are superior and inferior groups, it’s then a progression that (if no-one stops it) gathers momentum.  

Exactly this, once you’ve accepted the concept then everything else is just arguing about details.

[David9694]

Let’s be clear on this stuff

Let’s be clear on this stuff – one you’ve decided that there are superior and inferior groups, it’s then a progression that (if no-one stops it) gathers momentum.  It’s a side benefit that creating a “them” helps strengthen your “us”. 

You take away the things that sustain the identity of the “enemy”  – symbols, gathering places, books, leaders; then it’s changes to education, government and business, and oh look street harassment and vandalism have started.

We’re just a few weeks in with just a handful of councils and we’ve got the Pride flags, and now an episode about a book, complete with an informer for the bonus. 

To give some fairness to the BBC, let’s look at an O level revision guide for an outline of that progression from 1933-39:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zn8sgk7/revision/5

We’ve already damaged the rule of law by issuing long jail sentences for Zoom calls –  and turning a blind eye to tractors.(https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/19/protest-democracy-labour-tories-laws) 

“Hitler’s racism: not just the Jews

Hitler viewed the world as an arena for the permanent struggle between peoples. He divided the world population into high and low races. The Germans belonged to the high peoples and the Jews to the low ones. He also had specific notions about other peoples. The Slavic people, for instance, were cast as inferior, predestined to be dominated.

Hitler felt that the German people could only be strong if they were ‘pure’. As a consequence, people with hereditary diseases were considered harmful. These included people with physical or mental disabilities, as well as alcoholics and ‘incorrigible’ criminals. Once the Nazis had come to power, these ideas led to the forced sterilisation and killing of human beings.”

https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/go-in-depth/why-did-hitler-hate-jews/

I always think the 1939 requirement to wear a Star of David is a parallel to “make them wear hi viz”. See also: ripping out cycle lanes and bus gates. 

Powered along by economic depression and the legacy of WW1, and with no-one stopping it, you eventually get to the atrocities in the conquered east and the admin bods coming together at Wannsee in 1942. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wannsee_Conference

[David9694]

No, this isn’t a book burning

No, as you’ve said this isn’t a book burning, but a knee jerk response to a non-issue. -all  in that well known Reading suburb, Herne Bay. Still, little acorns and all that. 

Reform council claim ‘trans-related’ library book ban ‘not a change of policy’

Cllr Kemkaran added on X that “telling children they’re in the ‘wrong body’ is wrong and simply unacceptable” and said that “trans-related” works would be removed from the children’s sections of all 99 of the county’s libraries.

https://www.readingchronicle.co.uk/news/national/25291541.reform-council-claim-trans-related-library-book-ban-not-change-policy/

First, they came for the trans autism books 
And I did not speak out
Because I was not trans or autistic
Etc 

 

[Hirsute]

Glad it made the 6 o’clock
Glad it made the 6 o’clock news as part of the BBC charter to promote Reform plc at every opportunity.

[chrisonabike]

As you say another maybe-not
As you say another maybe-not-quite-a-story?

Or is it full-on book banning… if so are they merely drinking from the same well as MAGA – and indeed some parties across Europe … or are they straight-up copying US republican / Christian Right policies?

And surely folks who are about “free speech” / anti-“censorship” (well, some of them) should be in favour of having it all out there and letting people debate / choose?

Or is the idea that it’s all memetic hygene (“woke mind virus”) – or just plain old advertising – and actually we don’t want the “bad stuff” seen?

In which case isn’t this just actually like … the “left” they oppose, with *their* with no-platforming / cancelling etc?

[Hirsute]

Always best to pretend such
Always best to pretend such people do not exist.

What I think of reform <. redacted due to excessive swearing >.

*I have met a trans person and I was out of my comfort zone but that was my problem not theirs.

[mdavidford]

Hard to make head or tail of

Hard to make head or tail of this.

Reform council leader claims they are purging degenerate literature from the county’s libraries*. However, a spokesperson seems to imply that they’ve just been put where they should be. And it might only have been one book.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6257p2vry3o

[* I may be paraphrasing slightly]

[David9694]

Public row over Pride flag

Public row over Pride flag sees teenage council leader already under fire for ‘crying off’ to (national) party

Reform UK’s Cllr George Finch has taken less than a week to cause controversy at the helm of the local authority after telling chief executive Monica Fogarty to take down the banner, which has been flying outside the council’s headquarters during pride month.

An email from the chief exec (published by The Telegraph) to the 18-year-old said: “I am afraid I will not be taking the action that you are requesting.”

Green group leader, Cllr Jonathan Chilvers said […] “If Warwickshire Reform’s Cllr George Finch wants to make a decision, he should go through cabinet in line with the democratic traditions of our country that protect us all. 

“It’s appalling that when he couldn’t get what he wanted he cried off to his national party to get them to launch a full blooded party political assault on a civil servant. 

“If that’s his interview for the top job he’s just failed badly.”

In a video shared on social media [Zia Yusuf] said: “The CEO of Warwickshire council has said they will not follow the instructions of elected officials, and has effectively declared themselves the supreme ruler and monarch of Warwickshire.”

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/london-cab-driver-blackmail-phone-b1235794.html

https://warwick.nub.news/news/local-news/teenage-council-leader-told-to-get-on-with-the-job-264513

good for you, lady 

[ktache]

And it’s not that they don’t

And it’s not that they don’t park on cycle routes.

[ktache]

I was always freaked out by

I was always freaked out by seeing Mrs Popov on Corrie…

[brooksby]

David9694 wrote:

Choice, Billy, choice – big, big clue there. Keep going – you might eventually get it. 

Ah, but he wants to make sure that people make the right choice.  Defined as “what he thinks is right”.

[David9694]

Choice, Billy, choice – big,

Choice, Billy, choice – big, big clue there. Keep going – you might eventually get it. 

[andystow]

David9694 wrote:

If you can name the 3 (original) Rentaghost characters and sing the song then you ride a Mercian King of the Mountains with a Brooks B17, toe-clips, a Carradice saddlebag and your large flange wheels are 36h rear and 32h front.

l-r Mr Davenport (c18th gentleman), Bob Mumford (recently deceased ordinary bloke), Timothy Claypole (court jester) 

🎶At your party, be a smartie just hire Rentaghost 

We’ve got freaks and fools and beasts and ghouls 

At Rentaghost 🎵

That’s as best I can do without looking it up. 

A pair of Rene Herse tan walls for the bonus to anyone who can (i) describe their special powers and how these are activated and (ii) the name of their landlord. 

I don’t know that stuff, but I left the UK at eight years old in 1979, so I never saw the show after that, but I still have the general tune of that theme song stuck in my head, along with Andy Pandy and Rupert.

[chrisonabike]

brooksby wrote:

Indeed … sigh…

brooksby wrote:

William “Billy” Barren wrote:

Many locals prefer cycling along promenades or through parks rather than on busy main roads. .

As others noted – simply have it both ways.  Expand the green spaces (into “linear parks”) which can shift a large volume of people via cycling, walking and wheeling. Utrecht can show you how.  And e.g. Houten can show how good it can be in a “designed from the start” environment. *

Also existing parks can be part of a “going from A to B” network that is also pleasant to be in.  Why maintain the “motorist’s burden” mentality of “we don’t enjoy driving, so why should anyone else get to enjoy their travel”?

William “Billy” Barren wrote:

Residents want choice, not a future dictated solely by bicycles.

Where’s Mitsky – “cyclists shurely, not ‘bicycles’ ” …?

William “Billy” Barren wrote:

Many feel cycle lane expansions have compromised traffic flow, parking availability, and accessibility. Have we fully considered the voices of disabled and vulnerable residents or small business owners?

This chap was honest here – he put people’s main concerns first, and the one we only care about when our ability to drive as conveniently as possible (accessibility) last.  Strangely there isn’t normally much interest in accessible crossings / continuous footway / speed reductions / sorting out pavement parking – all of which can seriously impact on disabled and vulnerable residents…

William “Billy” Barren wrote:

Yes, safer cycling is crucial. But it must be part of a balanced approach, not a rigid ideology. Investing in reliable bus services, maintaining roads, and genuinely listening to all residents, including the silent majority who drive, should be central to any political platform.

Consider – “Yes, [children’s safety / women being protected from violent assault / old people not being ripped off ] is critical, but it must be part of a balanced approach, not a rigid ideology”

Nobody would say that except perhaps paedophiles, the Taliban and some conmen.

Why should road safety be different?

* Of course – we can’t make much of a difference with pocket change.  Which unfortunately is what we have when we spend so many transport pounds on fixing it to be more convenient for drivers to more easily trash the infra / trash pedestrians, cyclists and each other…

[Author]

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