News / Politics
Ferguson goes on attack over 20mph
City mayor George Ferguson said it would be “unthinkable” to reverse the roll-out of 20mph zones across Bristol, despite more than 8,000 people signing a petition.
The petition, which called on the the council to “scrap the 20mph limit in Bristol and restore common sense”, was debated at a meeting of full council last night.
Ferguson used his speech at the end of the debate to defend the scheme and also to attack the Labour party on their stance.
In a stinging criticism, and his first public clash since the party unveiled their challenger to face him in next year’s elections, the mayor said he was surprised at their lack of support for the scheme.
He said it was “despicable” that the party was “squirming” on the issue in an apparent bid to score political points.
He added: “This will end up being like the banning of smoking in public spaces. It will be unthinkable to reverse it.”
But Labour had the last word as Chris Jackson, Filwood councillor, raised a point of clarification that nobody had objected to the scheme from his party.
“All we have done is point out that there are some parts of it that won’t work – which he agrees with. It’s the mayor who’s playing party politics,” he said among cheers of support.
It was the fourth time in a year that the scheme had been debated at the council.
Mark Weston, Conservative group leader, said the evening had a sense of “groundhog day”.
He added: “It’s 20mph all the time, even if it’s three in the morning and there is no-one else out.
“The problem is though, that most of the city don’t. They still drive responsibly, they still drive safely, but they’re suddenly law-breakers.”
Greens pointed out that a second petition in support of the scheme had been launched two months later and had already gathered over 2,000 signatures.
Before the debate, some campaigners questioned the council’s method of counting signatures, after the official documents highlighted that the number of signatures from people who live in Bristol was only 5,060 – as opposed to the total of 8,140. Council rules say anyone who lives, works or studies in the city is a valid signatory.
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