New poll on 20mph shows Labour have lots to think about with an election due
www.walesonline.co.uk
The policy has not proved popular with the Welsh public but will Labour pay for it come election time?

A month on from Welsh Labour introducing the 20mph limit for most 30mph zones and it is fair to say that it hasn’t gone down well with the public so far. A poll last week suggested that 59% of people oppose the new limit with just 29% supporting its introduction. It also suggested that opposition had gone up since the new limit came in.

Perhaps most concerning for Welsh Labour will be that since August the popularity of First Minister Mark Drakeford has nosedived by 11 points so that him and opposition leader Andrew RT Davies are basically neck and neck when it comes to the public’s opinion on who would make a better First Minister. This begs a few questions. How did this seemingly innocuous policy go so wrong for Welsh Labour?

  • TWeaKEnglish
    1•1 year ago

    There have been a few exceptions, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still a blanket change of the national speed limit - one that has not been fully thought out for every road being changed. The Senedd is also effectively pushing responsibility for this onto cash-strapped councils, who lack the funding to do it comprehensively.

    • @br3d
      0•1 year ago

      You don’t understand what “National Speed Limit” means. That term refers to 60 (70 on dual carriageways) and is what is indicated by a white circle with a black line through it. What you’re talking about is a default for built-up areas, which is very different.

      • TWeaKEnglish
        2•1 year ago

        You’re very wrong.

        National speed limits

        The following speed limits apply to all single and dual carriageways with street lights, unless there are signs showing otherwise:

        • 30 miles per hour (48km/h) in England, Scotland or Northern Ireland
        • 20 miles per hour (32km/h) in Wales

        For 30 limits (and now 20 in Wales), in a practical sense National Speed limit means there is no obligation for repeater signs.

        I’ve also read that technically the white circle with a black line also historically applies to 30/20 limits, but I can’t be bothered to dig through the .gov.uk pages to find that, and in practice that’s not what they do anyway.