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Opposing RIS2 is not climate action

A group called Transport Action Network have taken the Government to judicial review to stop Road Investment Strategy (RIS2) from happening ( they lost ). Sadly, their approach does not appear about better outcomes but instead, shrouded in anti-car sentiment. This is a real shame as RIS2 offers a unique opportunity to change the Governments direction on road building and ensure public and active travel, as well as future connectivity are front and centre of how we invest in roads. To consider how this could be conceived, it is worth exploring several RIS projects to understand where they are succeeding and where they are failing. Lower Thames Crossing (LTC) – Growing rail The LTC has been in the pipeline for more than a decade, with the initial scoping commencing in 2009. Several different solutions were proposed but passenger rail was decided as unlikely to provide value for money. In 2021, with billions spent on HS2 and a climate emergency, this looks a very short-sighted decis...
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You don't fix poverty by making the poorest pay more

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This post began as a twitter response but it was clear that it was just better to write a short piece, than a number of tweets. The tweet exchange was broadly about why increasing fuel duty harms the poorest and when done to encourage drivers to switch to electric vehicles, sees wealthier drivers most likely to switch and the less well off, paying more  on one of their highest vehicle outgoings. Firstly, some data. For the 58 million of us not living in London, 77% of us commute to work by car . Driving is most popular in our rural communities, where 6% of the 11million population and 14% in rural towns/fringes have no access to a vehicle. In London, 45% do not have access and in England the total number is 20%. In recent years, apart from London, only the East Midlands has seen an increase in no car access. It's therefore clear that car access plays a major role in many peoples lives but while many people use statistics about the poorest to justify why we need to invest in mo...
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A great decade for equality

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Nobody seems to talk about it but the last decade has seen considerable improvements in the lives of Britain’s ethnic minorities. Despite some clear policy failures, such as Windrush, the Conservative government should be very proud of its levelling up agenda and the change in opportunity that all our communities are experiencing. The Black Liver Matters (BLM) protests gave the media a perfect opportunity to focus on those improvements and understand why they happened but instead, they wholly ignored that debate and focused on how the protests unfurled. This missed opportunity is a failure of debate but it’s also an opportunity the Conservatives wasted, therefore until this debate changes, perhaps overshadowed by a second wave of Covid-19, I wanted to lay bare some of the changes we’ve seen in the last decade. Employment In 2004, 73% of 16-64 year olds were in employment. In 2018, that number had risen to 75%. When going by ethnicity, ‘Other than white’ statistics sho...
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Don’t let vandalism airbrush history

As the Bristol slaver, Edward Colston fell into the water, the Bristol crowd, which had campaigned for years to get rid of his statue, cheered. Days later, the Mayor of London provided a miracle by getting public sector work done overnight and removed slaver, Robert Milligan from outside the museum of London Docklands. No democratic vote, no conversation, no community engagement; just the removal of a deplorable, visual reminder. In the aftermath, division has arisen and while other statues are being targeted, it’s clear that we now have a few choices to make about these fallen figures. Do we replace them with someone else? Retain public space? Or, use the plinths as a reminder of the past? The choices that are made may influence the length of time it takes to rid ourselves of the maximum amount of racism and inspire sustained change, therefore the decision should not be rushed. However, with websites already being put up that identify other statues that must go, th...
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This chance to tackle rough sleeping must not be wasted

The Government has announced an extra £52million to ensure 6,000 more homes are put into the system which supports rough sleepers. This hugely welcomed move will ensure that in the next 12 months, 3,300 homes will become available and that Dame Louise Casey’s, rough sleeping pandemic taskforce , can continue supporting solutions, which saw 90% of rough sleepers being offered accommodation. The next steps will prove how much thought the Government has given to deliver a sustainable service because many existing places are either temporary/hostels and have unsuitable and underfunded support services. These services, which councils typically arrange, don’t always offer the type of support and environment needed for sustainable recovery and too often, just put roofs over heads. On-site and floating mental and physical health support may need to operate as a separate contract, as many residential sites will not be able to provide adequate wrap around care. Separating contract...
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Retrofitting rebate

I am proposing a retrofitting rebate paid from stamp duty With more than five million UK homes without cavity walls, almost five million built before 1919 and around 18 million built without insulation, the retrofit housing challenge is colossal. This challenge is made even more difficult because currently, low earners and older people are the only groups eligible for energy efficiency grants. This leaves a huge majority out. As part of its Future Homes Standard, the Government will soon consult on how we establish a Future Homes Standard for existing homes but for the March 2020 budget, the Government could signal its intention by allowing every home which pays stamp duty a rebate if they carry out accepted retrofitting work, carried out by registered companies and practices. The Government would benefit because it could retain stamp duty until rebated. Industry would have the confidence to invest in new techniques and opportunities. Homeowners would be less anxious about the payba...
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Are we scrapping policy for protest?

When moving to Brighton three years ago I hoped the political landscape of Green, Labour and Conservative would bear insightful and progressive conversation. The reality has been a mixture of ideological entrenchment and partisan positioning. The Green party and Caroline Lucas - their only Member of Parliament (MP) - are formidable in Brighton and Hove. This local influence and national recognition has not only sustained their only MP throughout many swing elections but locally, the Green's spent 2011-2015 in minority control of Brighton and Hove council. As the voice of the green sector, their contribution is vital to political discourse. I (like most) share many values with the Green party but all too often we differ on the approach to sustainable delivery. In this piece I wanted to explore their ardent support of the diesel scrappage scheme and comment on why deeper policy thinking should always come before protest. The background and consequences of 2009 The 2009 ...
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