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Labour to privatise new roads
Despite a drubbing at the local elections in England, a wipeout in Wales, and a poor showing in Scotland, Keir Starmer and his government seem determined to press ahead regardless. While Starmer clings on for the time being he maintains that he is sticking to the task of delivering the change that people voted for, without any sense of shame or irony. He seems to have forgotten that Labour won with barely a third of the vote (and only 20%...
Delivering change requires more than words
There has been a lot of talk about “delivering change” with the Government publishing a number of new strategies and guidance recently and as we approach elections in May. Why...
RIS3: Stuck on the wrong road?
It has been a busy time for roads campaigners: the Department for Transport published its £27bn 5-year roads plan (2026-2031, known as RIS3) at the end of March and on the same day also approved 16 local road schemes, including the controversial Norwich Western Link. While the RIS3 headlines focused...
When in a hole…
This week road users were faced with the news (not that they needed telling) that the maintenance backlog on local roads (and pavements) is now up to a staggering £18.6bn. Despite all the spin from Keir Starmer and his government about putting more money into fixing potholes, things are getting...
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The Fight for Queensbury Tunnel
The campaign to save Queensbury Tunnel is an excellent example of how local people coming together with a shared vision can form an incredibly powerful voice when faced with short-sighted political decisions. Background: An Engineering Marvel Built by Great Northern Railway and opened in 1878, Queensbury Tunnel stretches 1.4 miles...
‘Smart’ motorway reports expose costly failure
After much delay, National Highways has finally published the evaluation reports for 16 ‘smart’ motorways. As expected, they showed that almost all of the ‘smart’ motorways had been costly failures. Instead of delivering a predicted £10 billion of economic benefits, they delivered under £2bn, which is less than they cost...
Lighting the touchpaper
Igniting Community Action: The Queensbury Tunnel Campaign Transport Action Network (TAN) was founded in 2019 to help local communities facing damaging road schemes or wanting better transport solutions. What happened on the 18th January 2026, in a cold, damp and misty disused railway cutting in West Yorkshire, demonstrated perfectly why...