Calls to scrap 20mph speed limit continue after signs repeatedly vandalised

CALLS TO scrap the Welsh Government's 20mph speed limit have continued after a number of signs have  been defaced.

Speed limit signs in Llandudno, Conwy, have been vandalised a total of eight times since the 20mph limit was introduced in September 2023, with the most recent occasion being in the early hours of Sunday, June 23.

In light of this, the calls from the Labour government's opposition, the Welsh Conservatives, to scrap the 20mph speed limit, have continued to grow.

The Welsh Conservatives have said they would scrap the 20mph limit and "adopt a targeted approach".

Member of the Senedd for South Wales and Shadow Transport Minister, Natasha Asghar MS, has been responding to the news of this most recent act of vandalism.

She said: “Whilst vandalism is never the right approach, this latest story highlights the frustration that the people of Wales feel towards Labour’s 20mph speed limit.

“This policy is slowing Wales down and is forecast to hit the Welsh economy by up to £9 billion.

“The Welsh Conservatives would scrap the Labour Welsh Government’s speed limit scheme, adopt a targeted approach, and get Wales moving again.”

When the blanket speed limit was introduced in September 2023, around 7,000 miles of roads in Wales had their speed limit reduced from 30mph to 20mph, with more than 20,000 road signs changed.

Many people have taken to signing petitions in their attempts to get the speed limit change reversed.

In March, a petition with nearly half a million signatures calling for the speed limit to be scrapped was handed into the Senedd, followed by a  peaceful protest on the Senedd steps in Cardiff Bay in May. 

Previous responses from the Welsh Government in response to calls to scrap the 20mph speed limit have included Transport Secretary Ken Skates claiming any decision to completely scrap the speed limit change could cost up to £5 million, while in April, the government did admit there would be some changes to the speed limit, with some exceptions, but refused to scrap it entirely.