For the many, not the brave - cycling at Labour conference

Tom Watson, the party’s deputy leader led the conference ride and an event that included Heidi Alexander Deputy Mayor of London and Rachel Maskell, Shadow Minister for Transport.

The deputy leader of Labour party, who lost 40 kg and brought his diabetes under control in less than a year, explained that 10% of NHS spending is now related to Type II diabetes: ‘We face an obesity and inactivity crisis that threatens to break the NHS’.

Rachael Maskell MP and Heidi Alexander both spoke starkly about air pollution and how the present lack of cycling infrastructure means that children, the elderly and many women are excluded from cycling short distances to school, the shops and work. An audience of mayors and councillors discussed a range of policy actions and the need to build political will within the movement.  "Photoshoots of bike-ability courses are easy politically, it’s rather more difficult to talk about removing a parking space and build a safe route to the school" was one of the comments during the Cycling UK sponsored reception.

Cycling UK's Infrastructure Campaigner Tom Guha said "This is a good example of how cyclists within a political party can make a difference, by having a presence at the party conference Labour Cycles have been really effective and were able to speak directly to those who will shape Labour's transport policy."

Cities cannot be economically successful and be pleasant places to live if they are clogged up with cars.

Andy MacDonald MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Transport

In a separate event, Andy MacDonald MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Transport stated "Cities cannot be economically successful and be pleasant places to live if they are clogged up with cars". As well as committing to re-instating a Cycling England-like body he talked about the need to align transport spending to the country’s health and environmental needs.

I am the Chair of Labour Cycles, it now has members in over 65 constituencies and are campaigning for a national commitment to Dutch levels of spending on active travel for a period of at least 10 years. Perhaps more importantly, they are developing language and toolkits for Labour Councillors that talk about active travel through the optics of core Labour values of inclusion, justice and public health. I believe that introducing 20 mph, low-traffic neighbourhoods, protected cycle tracks or exclusion zones around schools involves local councillors investing hard-won political capital. These are often difficult conversations. We have got to help all councillors, not just the lead on transport, understand why that investment of political-will is profoundly aligned to Labour’s core values.

Labour Cycles is open to all Labour Party members and can be joined via www.LabourCycles.org.