Just hours into her new job, we learned a bit more about the approach and attitude Liz Truss and her team take to roads, transport, travel times, freedom of movement and the most popular mode of transport in Britain: the car.
You may have noticed that on Monday she was officially ‘voted’ (by her party, not the public) as Prime Minister, she was still traveling in her ministerial BMW car. Honestly, can you imagine a newly announced leader in, say, Germany, France, Italy, or the United States, traveling in anything other than a German, French, Italian, or American vehicle on the day he landed the biggest job? Not in a million years.
Fortunately, the next day our new Prime Minister at least had the good sense to switch to the wheels of a British company, albeit an Indian-owned one. But is a thirsty used Range Rover with the ‘wrong’ kind of old-tech combustion engine really appropriate for the new Prime Minister, who could be in office until 2024, and even longer if all goes well? as expected ?
The lady must surely lead by example and actively demonstrate that she has the courage of her EV and financially frugal beliefs. Which means a move from his Range Rover to a cleaner, cheaper car – a Jaguar I-Pace, perhaps. It also has greener Range Rover options. How about the excellent new plug-in hybrid that will take it around London on EV power until an all-electric Range Rover arrives in 2024.
Another thing Liz should consider is her work-related travel schedule. In short, avoid peak hours. Why did his ‘expert’ team of safety and security advisers and professionals allow him to take his first road trip to Downing Street as Prime Minister late afternoon on a Tuesday working as car drivers and busy buses and taxis had to get in the way of her and her unnecessarily long fleet of limos, bikes and other support vehicles?
I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I watched all the footage provided by the helicopter of its fast and furious SUV ride from RAF Northolt to Downing Street, just 15 miles away. Surprise number one was how often the rules of the road were broken by his convoy. Near misses, speeding, as well as driving/driving on roundabouts, in bus lanes and on the wrong side of the road – these were all obvious and, frankly, unnecessary. No one – no matter how old, busy and protected they may be on their way to work – needs to cause so much potentially dangerous disruption to other road users and pedestrians.
Will her drivers, security personnel and police motorcyclists accept, circumvent or break the laws of the land when the lady commutes in the future? We will see. But if they do not respect the rules, they will have to explain and justify their reasons.
On a more productive note, the new Prime Minister has already spoken positively about increased road construction, the lifting of the fracking ban and possible changes to some speed limits. So it’s so far, so good from Truss.
Mind you, I said the same thing about Grant Shapps during the early days of his long reign of car-loathing as Transport Secretary. Sincerely, thank you for dumping him, Liz.
Do you agree with Mike? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section…
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