George Osborne "isn't listening to evidence" on cycling investment

Osborne, as with every MP, is interested in what will keep him in power. Prt of the lobby that put him where he is requires him to make lots of money for his mates, so that's the lesser item that might interest him.

I doubt that the question of whether bike riders can use a road without dying is even in his top 100 of concerns.

There isn't much that the local council can do though. I was at a meeting last month when I was told by two senior councillors that our entire local council budget will only match what is projected to be spent on adult social care by 2020.

With the announced cuts to central governemnt funding then any service that is not legally mandated simply won't happen. The council have already sold most of its assets and is going for the full 3.95% council tax increase for this year (but the supposedly extra 2% for social care premium allowed won't even cover the increased wage costs of moving to the 'living wage').

There is next to no chance of getting potholes repaired, let alone any improvements to the local transport infrastructure.

Y’all might be better directing your letter writing efforts to your local authorities. They manage 98% of the network, and funding for it isn’t “ring-fenced” by central Government.

It’s true that the overall support for local authorities from central government has been, and will continue to be, severely pruned by central Government – but even if Osborne gave them more there’s little evidence they’d spend it on cycling.

A clear national strategy might put a little pressure on local authorities, that's true - but a compelling local case and local voter might do more.

Just like every other promise made by this government, the cycling revolution has evaporated.  The economic and social case for cycling is overwhelming, undeniable and the Prime Minister no less, has promised the cycling revolution, so the question has to be why won't they fund it?  They are more than happy to fund road building, for which there is no economic or social case, and HS2, which similarly has no justification.

The answer is that they drive cars, their family drive cars and their friends drive cars, and lots more of their friends own road building and construction companies.  This government has realised that it has five years to screw us over before they get consigned to the dustbin of history, and they are going to make as much as they can as quickly as they can.

I'll be writing to my MP, a tory party line faithful, but since he has proved much less useful than a chocolate ironing board in the past, I won't be holding out much hope.

I'm not sure you could ever accuse George Osborne of listening to evidence on anything.

You're a tough bunch to please, you really are.

This government has mentioned that they're well behind a cycling revolution at least a few times - what more do you want? Actual investment?

Similarly they keep talking about making difficult decisions - yet you seem to want them to actually make a difficult decision. Deary me.

3 times during the past year I've written to my (Tory) MP asking for support for cycling projects, I've yet to have the courtesy of a reply.

There are two problems with Osborne. (In fact, there are many more, but let's concentrate on two).

He seems to be someone who spends all his time indoors. He's either in an office, or in a limo, or watching DVDs on the train having blagged his way into 1st Class. He doesn't go outside, except if it's for a photo op with him wearing a fluorescent gilet, safety goggles, and a white hard hat, so of course he doesn't like riding bikes. That makes it difficult to persuade him to fund cycling. That's the first problem.

The second problem is that, despite having been elected on a 'long-term economic plan' slogan, repeated so often that it made me want to cut my ears off, like Van Gogh, he is incapable of assessing evidence and planning long-term. He's all about gaining a political advantage today, or next Tuesday at the latest, through some Macchiavellian scheme.

Cycling infrastructure needs to be planned and invested in by someone with integrity and vision. That's never going to be Osborne. So the best chance is to put pressure on DfT ministers. One of them is my constituency MP, and I'll be writing to him.

I am sure the debate will present an excellent case for putting good money into cycling, but it will fail to move Osborne, just as similar calls have failed to move any Labour chancellor before him.

Because they just don't understand that cycling, or walking for that matter, needs any consideration.

The best thing we can hope for is for an alien invasion from the Planet Pedal....The Netherlands... who are wired differently.