Transport Secretary says there is no ‘war on motorists’

There is “no such thing as a war on motorists”, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said.

The Cabinet minister said “no serious person” is suggesting tradespeople should “swap their van for a bus”.

Under Rishi Sunak’s leadership, the Conservative government accused the Labour Party of engaging in a “war on motorists”.

The Tories introduced a 30-point Plan for Drivers which included measures aimed at limiting 20mph zones, bus lanes and low traffic neighbourhoods.

In a speech at the National Railway Museum in York on Thursday night, Ms Alexander said she would not spend time solving “invented” problems.

She said: “Enrique Penalosa, a former mayor of Bogota (the capital of Colombia), once said: ‘An advanced city is not one where the poor have to own a car, but one where the rich choose to use public transport’.

“That’s a vision I believe in.

“But I can picture the headlines now, so let me counter the column inches before they emerge: there is no such thing as a war on motorists.”

She went on: “No serious person is proposing to ask people like my dad, a self-employed electrician, to swap their van for a bus, forcing them to lug all their kit around, I certainly am not.

“Through his career, my dad was a professional problem-solver, and I hope I’ll carry the torch for that family tradition.

“But I’ll be focusing on solving real problems, not wasting time on the invented ones.”

She said a person’s hometown “should provide the transport options to meet (their) aspirations”, and “if transport doesn’t nurture young people with the opportunities they deserve, then our entire economy misses out on the talent it needs to grow”.

Shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon, said Labour was waging an “assault” on drivers.

“Heidi Alexander says ‘there’s no such thing as a war on motorists’ while families are paying more in road tax, more at the pump, are more just to get to work. Make no mistake – Labour are waging a full-scale assault on the driver.

The Tory MP added: “So, when Heidi says ‘no serious person’ is asking van drivers to take the bus, she’s technically right. Labour aren’t asking, they’re forcing you – forcing drivers off the roads, out of their cars, and into a world where only the wealthy can afford to drive.

“Because under Labour, if you drive a van, own a car, or simply want to get on with your life without being taxed into oblivion, you are the problem.

“If this isn’t a war on motorists, what is?”