New transport secretary needs a slap

Possibly true! But I just can't throw my arms around a party that has showed us so little support. We got a great deal of support from the Lib Dems, Greens, Labour... it's a joke how little we got from the Tories. I do miss Lord Adonis. :o(

I'm basing my judgement on facts.

Fair enough. I thought I would pop in some thoughts.

EDMS have a nickname in Parliament as Parliamentary Graffiti and are mainly used by Lobby groups for their campaigns to say they have x number of signatures and thats about it. Now looking at the signatories, the majority of people who signed it were people who sign most EDMs e.g. backbench leftleaning Lab MPs, MPs in Marginal constituencies or Lib Dems) Alan Simpson MP for example signed nearly 1000 EDMs last year I think.

Now most of them would have signed the EDM in the safe knowledge that they would not have to implement any of the ideas and are just calling for something to be done, it pleases the constituents that write in and the campaign group that started the EDM whist also is calling for something good to be done usually. The Tories would have been put off signing from their Treasury team at the time probably because it may imply a spending commitment or some other reason.

However, a few of the Lib Dem MPs who signed it are now in positions of power, Vince Cable (sec of state, Business), Lynne featherstone (Home Office Minister) Steve Webb (DWP minister) and none other than new Minister for Transport with specific responsibility for cycling - Norman Baker MP http://www.dft.gov.uk/press/ministers/normanbaker

Now with people talking about broken promises upthread and politicians saying one thing and doing another, I hope that cycling campaigns are getting on to those MPs now in Government who signed the EDM (http://tinyurl.com/yjfwhmc) and are asking what they are doing about it. The new cycling minister seems a pretty good MP to start with.

ps. Sorry for going on. For what its worth I think the interview the thread is initially about shows that the new Sec of State for transport admits he is pretty ignorant about cycling, doesn't cycle and I hope and am sure that the cycling campaign groups are doing all they can to educate him about the realities of cycling...