Prime Minister: Welsh Government’s blanket 20mph speed limit “not appropriate”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has given his view over the blanket speed limit reduction set to be introduced on Welsh roads in September, branding the move as inappropriate.
Wales is poised to implement a new 20mph speed limit law on 17 September 2023.
The move will transition the majority of Wales’ 30mph speed limits to 20mph, making the nation one of the first globally to establish a default 20mph limit. Some local roads will be exempt – you can ask Wrexham Council or your local councillor for more information on which.
During a visit to Wrexham on Friday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was asked by Deeside.comabout the issue, and said “It’s always going to be fitting in particular areas to have lower speeds, for instance, near schoolchildren.”
“I think everyone would agree that from a safety perspective, this makes sense.”
However, the Prime Minister stated, “I think a blanket reduction to 20 miles an hour doesn’t make sense.”
“It [will] just add cost and complexity, it will cause people to make that adjustment and just get in the way of their ordinary lives.”
He said the speed limit reduction “in a blanket fashion like that is not appropriate.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was at Networld Sport in Wrexham on Friday where he took part in a photo opportunity at the sports equipment retailers HQ before facing a few questions from us. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take photos of his visit.
In the run-up to the new legislation, eight communities, including Buckley, reduced speed limits.
The decision, however, triggered an outcry in the town, and a petition opposing the speed limits, signed by 51,000 people, was sent to the Welsh Parliament.
The Welsh Government minister leading the 20mph speed rollout conceded that they erred in Buckley.
At an event in Saltney where we were the only local or regional media to challenge Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters MS, on the topic, where admitted that imposing a blanket 20mph speed limit change on all roads in the town and the surrounding area was a mistake.
You can read more from Lee Waters MS on that here, or more from the Lead Member on Wrexham Council Hugh Jones about how the roll out will take place locally here.
We watched the PM touch down on the live tracker – it appeared to do the return trip later in the day.
We tracked the PM’s BELL 429 GlobalRanger from Battersea to Hawarden on Friday morning – a bright red helicopter with ‘Homeserve’ on the side.
The trip up to north Wales has become front page news this morning (below) in The Mirror who say in their story that the heli is owned by “…Richard Harpin – who has registered almost a million pounds in cash and gifts to the Conservative Party since 2022”.
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