Fact checking Lambert’s latest ramblings
Incredible how those in positions of power and influences can say something that’s patently not true. Lambert’s latest ‘amusing update’ contains his thoughts on car ownership and parking in London. He said this:‘By the way, before the tabloid picks this up and says ’Lambert trying to ban cars’ I’m not and none of this is nobody’s policy, just me musing.’Well, it is somebody’s policy, that of the London Cycling Campaign of which he and other Labour councillors are members. Lambert’s musings echo the speech given to the Labour conference last year by the LCC chief executive Ashok Sinha, who said:“We need to free people from the burden and tyranny of owning tons of metal that sits unused 90 percent of the time,”I’m not sure that most car owners see it as a tyranny and a burden, although they might view the policies of Lambert and his colleagues as exactly that.Anyone who looks into the strategies and aims of the LCC will recognise its direct influence on policies pursued by Hounslow, Ealing and other councils in London. Low traffic neighbourhoods, cycle lanes, reducing parking spaces, etc, are all part of the plan. Make owning a car as expensive and inconvenient as possible to simply force people off the road.They’d have you believe that car owners are singlehandedly responsible for all the problems in London, yet car ownership in the capital has actually declined in the last 20 years, despite a massive increase in population. London is unique in that in the UK.Congestion is caused by blocking roads, whether that’s due to roadworks, an accident or lame-brained traffic management policies that funnel all vehicles onto fewer roads. Yes, there are peaks where volumes are higher but most of the time most roads are pretty quiet.Inevitably Lambert will brand me a car lobbyist (which I’m not) and a Tory (which I certainly am not). I simply think that people should be able to make their own choices, not be dictated to by a self-interested minority.Lambert advocates car clubs, but doesn’t even consider that vehicle ownership is often a key to economic activity for many. Does he think those ubiquitous Ubers are anything other than privately owned vehicles? Like most utopians he thinks most of us are sitting at home deciding which leisure activity to pursue next. Simple minded, no?Ironically Lambert has a nice shiny new car and presumably a nice secure private parking space in Brentford. He doesn’t ‘need’ a car, so why does he have one? Surely he and others should practice what they preach?!
Simon Hayes ● 324d27 Comments