Labour leader backs better road conditions for cyclists

Leader of the Labour Party Ed Miliband has given his support to the campaigning work of British Cycling on improving road conditions for cyclists.

Miliband’s announcement, during a visit to the British Cycling HQ last week, comes soon after the Shadow Transport Minister commited to building separate cycle paths during the Labour Party Conference.

“Safer cycling is a very important issue and it’s great that British Cycling is campaigning on it,” said the Labour leader. He added that he fully backs the Shadow Transport Secretary Maria Eagle’s proposal that a mandatory cycling assessment should be built into all future transport projects so that cycling is designed into infrastructure, rather than added as an afterthought.

He went on: “As somebody who is married to someone who cycles a lot in London, my wife Justine, it’s incredibly important that people have safe places to cycle. Every incident involving a cyclist, the terrible tragedies that can happen, is a reminder that there is a lot more to do to make cycling safer in our cities.”

Finally, speaking on British Cycling’s ambition to make the UK a cycling nation to rival countries like Holland – where the average person owns at least one bike and regularly uses it as a form of transport – he said: “It is a sentiment that I strongly support.”

Earlier in the year, Prime Minister David Cameron gave his support to The Times’ Safer Cities for Cycling campaign, but didn’t pledge any extra cash.

At the back of the most recent (November) edition of BikeBiz, executive editor Carlton Reid points out that political promises on cycling don’t always materialise into reality. Read that by downloading or flicking through the most recent edition. If you are in the cycle industry and want to get a physical copy of the mag, let us know at bikebiz@intentmedia.co.uk.

Picture via the British Cycling Twitter account.