Rishi Sunak orders review of low traffic neighbourhoods

Rishi Sunak helps cadets paint their newly restored base during a visit to Dartford yesterday (Picture: Getty)

Rishi Sunak has ordered a review of the rollout of low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs), putting himself on the ‘side of motorists’.

Under such plans, traffic is limited in towns and city centres – with drivers often barred from using residential roads as cut-throughs.

The measures are designed to reduce air pollution and encourage uptake of other modes of transport.

But the policies have been criticised by some Tory MPs, who say they are an attacks on motorists.

In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Sunak said: ‘The vast majority of people in the country use their cars to get around and are dependent on their cars. When I’m lucky enough to get home to North Yorkshire it’s more representative of how most of the country is living, where cars are important.

‘I just want to make sure people know that I’m on their side in supporting them to use their cars to do all the things that matter to them.’

The pitch to motorists and car owners comes after the Conservatives’ narrow victory in the Uxbridge and Ruislip by-election earlier this month, which saw the Tory candidate tap into concerns about the expansion of London’s ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez).

That success has seen Tory MPs on the right of the party urge Mr Sunak to engage in a rethink on net zero, amid hopes of attacking Labour’s green ambitions.

Bollards on a street in Cowley, near Oxford, create a Low Traffic Neighbourhood (Picture: PA)

Conservative MP Nick Fletcher suggested in the Commons earlier this year that traffic control plans were part of an ‘international socialist concept’.

This is not the first time Mr Sunak has hit out at LTNs.

In last summer’s Tory leadership contest, he promised a review to consider their impact on emergency services.

Traffic passes a sign for London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone in Coulsden, south London (Picture: Getty)

In the same interview, he doubled-down on attacks on Sir Keir Starmer amid the row over the Ulez scheme, which is being pushed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

The Labour leader and other senior party have called on Mr Khan to reflect on the policy following the Uxbridge defeat.

The capital’s mayor has promised to listen to Londoners, while also stressing the urgent need to clean up the city’s air.

‘I’ve become slightly more alarmed by the Labour Party’s position. It’s quite anti-motorist,’ Mr Sunak claimed.

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‘I just want to make sure people know that I’m on their side in supporting them to use their cars to do all the things that matter to them,’ the prime minister said.