"it needs to be fundamentally undemocratic"
Only if you believe politicians think 'unless it's in the manifesto we can't do it'.
Not sure how many parties have put 'go to war' in their manifesto.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Could SNP have best manifestos for cycling?
(37 posts)-
Posted 10 years ago #
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There would be no problem with cycling provision if it made the kind of money that the last few wars have made us! That's exactly the problem...
Posted 10 years ago # -
Very much agree with @inst implication that what happens depends a great deal on the individual politician (and sometimes officer) who is in the position of power - often more important even than the party in power.
e.g. Labour Sarah Boyack's funding initiatives (there was another really big one in addition to CWSS, but scrapped by later transport ministers). Yet the transport ministers who followed her, Iain Gray and Wendy Alexander, had little personal interest in or understanding of cycling as a form of transport - hence the scrapping of her other funding initiative. All 3 were Labour, working under the same overall policy umbrella, but with very different outcomes.
Ditto more recently when the Lib Dems were in (joint) control of Edinburgh and had the chair of Transport Cttee (and they were the ones with the 'Model Cycle Friendly City manifest). The first Transport Convener Phil Wheeler was content just to let things carry on as they were. Then late in the day he was replaced by Cllr Gordon Mackenzie who was really proactive and was the guy - partly because he knew that they might be slaughtered at the next election - who managed to push through the policy of 5% of transport spending for cycling, rising by 1% a year.
So Sarah Boyack and Gordon Mackenzie were highly pro-active in bringing in great new initiatives, but did not quite fit the 'crusading' label. But we have had one 'crusader' - though primarily in relation to buses rather than bikes - Labour councillor David Begg (now Professor) when he was transport convener, pushed through the Greenways and couldn't care less that he was pillioried by the Evening News at the time. Also started the moves to ban cars from Princes St, proudly installed Princes St cycle lanes [see picture at end of link], etc, etc. That he was ahead of his time is shown by the subsequent removal of Pr St bike lanes and now the council retreating on bus lanes - so sad!
And there have been definite cycle crusaders in charge of transport policy in a few European cities from time to time, so they certainly exist. Only problem is we don't have much power to choose one, so the best we can do is to get the best parties into power and then just pray that whoever becomes transport convener or minister is at the least pro-active on cycling and at the best a crusader!
Posted 10 years ago # -
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And there have been definite cycle crusaders in charge of transport policy in a few European cities from time to time, so they certainly exist. Only problem is we don't have much power to choose one, so the best we can do is to get the best parties into power and then just pray that whoever becomes transport convener or minister is at the least pro-active on cycling and at the best a crusader!
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If that's the best 'we' can hope for, it'll take for ever/never happen.
Need to work on whoever is 'in power'.
There is a new regime just beginning.
Nicola Sturgeon hasn't shown any interest in 'cycling' (as far as I am aware).
New Transport Minister isn't an obvious improvement on the previous one - he just moved up a rung!
Shona Robison has shown an interest in "active travel".
BUT it's NOT (just) about Transport - it's about Health, Wellbeing, Inequality etc. etc - all the things this (SNP) Government is supposed to care about.
There is a "crusader" already in Holyrood, an Edinburgh MSP too AND in the Government party - works closely with Green MSP Alison Johnstone -
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Jim Eadie MSP (@JimEadie_msp)
11/12/2014 19:13
@UncleKempez Asked John Swinney today in Parly to allocate funds for cycling. Has agreed to meet me to discuss. Thanks for getting in touch"
Posted 10 years ago # -
Yeah, it's not a sunny picture.
Posted 10 years ago # -
@Instography
You've identified democracy as a barrier to tackling both obesity and to making active travel easier, which is interesting. I think I posted this before, but the best tutor I had at university has suggested that democracy is the main barrier to doing anything about impending climate chaos;
I think I'll see if I can get hold of him for a chat in the new year. I still think that democracy can be the answer provided everyone joins in and informs themselves. Pretendy democracy certainly doesn't work too well.
As regards who proposes war in their manifesto, I believe the Italian Futurists did, but most of them froze to death in the Dolomites in WWI.
Posted 10 years ago # -
"
The deputy leader, Dundee East MP Stuart Hosie, will be responsible for producing the manifesto."
Sunday Herald
(Westminster 2015)
Posted 10 years ago #
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