Local 20mph veto in Wales and funding for third Menai crossing pledged by Tories

The Tories are pledging to reverse Wales’ controversial 20mph speed limits and put a third Menai crossing back on the table if the party wins the General Election. Car-friendly commitments feature strongly in the Welsh Conservative election manifesto, published yesterday (Friday, June 21).

There also promises to commit £1bn for the electrification of the North Wales Main Line. It’s a pledge already made by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in October 2023 after the scrapping of the second leg of the HS2 high-speed rail line between Birmingham and Manchester.

Extra neighbourhood police officers across Wales are also promised in the manifesto, unveiled in Kinmel Bay, Conwy. There will also be more support payments for farmers, with an extra £1bn earmarked for the UK-wide agricultural budget, ringfenced for Welsh producers.

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The party’s commitment to scrapping Welsh Labour’s 20mph policy is likely to catch the eye of many voters. Public opposition has eased slightly since the default policy was introduced last September, with recent figures showing injuries on 20mph and 30mph roads falling by almost a third in the final quarter of 2023.

But it remains contentious and changes have been promised by Vaughan Gething’s government. The Tories want more and are promising a new law in Westminster to achieve this.

By expanding the planned Backing Drivers’ Bill to cover Wales, 20mph zones will require “local consent” and local communities will have a legal right to challenge existing zones. Labour has criticised the move as “desperate”

The Tories also aim to reverse the expansion of the Ulez clean air scheme in London, and to prevent any potential “pay per mile” taxes being introduced. Such schemes, proposed as a way of plugging car tax revenues as drivers switch to electric vehicles, would see drivers charged for how far they drive, what car they drive and at what time of day. Join the North Wales Live Whatsapp community

If the Tories win the vote on July 4, they said they will provide match funding to the Welsh Government for road schemes. The party hopes this will encourage Cardiff to “reconsider the M4 relief road and third Menai crossing options as well as wider improvements to the A55 and the A483 around Wrexham.”

Soon after being appointed transport secretary in March, Ken Skates left the door ajar on a third Menai crossing, telling BBC Wales the scheme could be “looked at again.” Anglesey Council leader Llinos Medi believes the halted project is not “just a transport issue” but could create "threats to safety and life". Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox

In its manifesto for Wales, the Welsh Conservatives added: “Keir Starmer said Wales was his blueprint for governing the UK and it is a damning indictment of his ambition for the country. The Labour Welsh Government has let standards slide across crucial public services while focusing on policies that people in Wales do not want, from putting more politicians in the Senedd to implementing a blanket 20mph speed limit across Wales and banning new roadbuilding.”

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