The king is dead, long live the queen.
As of Monday afternoon, the UK has a new prime minister, the fourth different Conservative in a decade to take on the role. There are a million different takes on what Liz Truss replacing Boris Johnson will mean for the country at large, with the cost of living crisis and the energy apocalypse looming over the incoming PM, who has had few answers so far.
However, what will Truss's premiership mean for cycling in this country? While cycling might have dropped to pre-pandemic levels, it remains a very big part of the future of travel, especially if the climate crisis is to be taken as seriously as it needs to be.
During the pandemic, he promised to usher in a "new golden age for cycling" in the UK, with £2 billion put towards active travel in this country. Whether it actually transpired is another question, with many councils backtracking on temporary infrastructure or low traffic neighbourhoods put up during lockdown. Johnson was definitely on board with it, though.
In opposition to the actually-a-cyclist Johnson, Truss is a 'true blue' Tory who has not been scared to bang the populist drum during her leadership campaign. The former foreign secretary even admitted that it was fair to say that her planned tax cut would benefit the highest earners 250 times more than the poorest, arguing it was wrong to view all economic policy through the “lens of redistribution”, during an interview with the BBC on Sunday.
However, in response to a letter from Conservative Friends of Cycling, a representative of Truss said: "I know Liz is looking forward to working with the cycling community to improve access to cycling and promote their interests."
The response read: "Good transport links are central to Liz’s plans to turbocharge the economy and unleash the potential of the private sector – we need to better connect every part of the UK to deliver this goal. That is why Liz has committed to build the infrastructure this country needs, and this includes infrastructure for cycling.
"This will help to get our country growing again — ensuring people can access good jobs, good schools, and good high streets wherever they live.
"Upgrading local transport links in cities and communities will connect people to the places they want to be. We will deliver more frequent and better integrated transport links in the places that need it most — employing the latest technology to make it easier to move across all modes of transport, ensuring people are not limited [in] how they want to travel by the places they live.
"We have seen the growth of cycling in our cities and towns — and cycling as a healthy method of transport should continue to be promoted. Liz is committed to levelling up in our transport sector, working to create an environment that promotes cycling and ensures it can continue to be a huge part of our society."
Last week, Truss suggested that she was "prepared" to look at getting rid of speed limits for cars on motorways, hardly the policy of a politician prepared to take tough choices on lowering car use and supporting more active travel.
The noises coming from her camp suggests that she is keen to carry on the culture wars, so cycling may remain an easy target, as opposed to something wholeheartedly encouraged. Truss as prime minister will very likely not be seen on a bike regularly, as Johnson was, and this might seem like a small difference, but it could just set the tone for her premiership.
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