"Why is the right at war with cyclists?... "

[Pebble]

Its just utter nonsense that the dislike of cyclists is a left/right sort of thing. Folk from all political leanings love their cars and want to drive fast - cyclists are just a bloody nuisance.

Reduce fuel duty, fix all the potholes, make speed limits and parking restrictions optional, ban cyclists, and freedom to jettison all litter out of car window - that is the sure fire way to political success in modern day britain - even the greens would get elected with that mandate.

[al_yrpal]

Just trying to remember any Socialist politician that rode a bike? Never seen Starmer, Rayner, Benn, Nandy, Brown or the Shadow Chancellor on two wheels? Dave and Boris set the standard.

For anti bike scruffy white van man takes some beating....

Al

[Vorpal]

I would hazard a guess that the author of that piece lives in or around London, where the majority of cyclists, especially commuters and delivery riders, seem to behave in such a way as to invite the negativity.

And that's why 20 years ago in rural Suffolk, I had idiots shouting obscenities at me for the crime of... riding in the middle of the lane? Or maybe it was because I was pulling a trailer?

Its just utter nonsense that the dislike of cyclists is a left/right sort of thing.

Of course it is. But politicians have long disagreed upon how to encourage more cycling and whether it should be at the expense of driving. The 'culture war' politics of the like of the Brexit Party, the Reform Party, and some elements in the Conservatives have driven a wedge in where there was previously mere disagreement.

Social media trolls have made this worse, and now there are more idiots shouting obscenities, and fewer folks in the middle, finding compromises, or politely agreeing to disagree.

[Nearholmer]

^^^

Very true.

This is but one of the multiple “wedge issues” being used to split and polarise society, and in so doing to make the world a much nastier place. Zero-sum thinking, a sort of “football match win” mentality, applied big-time to the challenges of co-existence, which are anything but a zero-sum game.

The mainstream left does dabble in this stuff occasionally, but it’s really the signature technique of the further-right in both its authoritarian and libertarian guises.

[simonineaston]

I was late to Twitter, or X or whatever its called... and quickly came to the conclusion that its a great place to trawl through if you want to read comments from those you are interested in or admire, as well as some of the most ill-informed and unpleasant garbage you can imagine. Today I saw a post that stopped me in my tracks... I didn't know it was an actual political device - I just thought we were getting grief casually, by accident, if you like. I feel a bit sick now!

screenshot of X

[Nearholmer]

Just think what it’s being like if you’re on the wrong side of one of the bigger wedge issues, race, climate-change denial, Islamophobia, lgbtq+ politics, or even simply gender, as in being a woman in some of the more extreme cases.

There is a whole smorgasbord of issues which the further-right, eagerly fuelled by the strange combination of the US libertarian right, US religious right, and anti-democratic state actors, uses to drive division, very consciously, and to a ‘playbook’ which has roots going back probably to Machiavelli and beyond, but has been super-refined in the past 100+ years since psychology began to be studied in depth by the advertising industry, sophisticated propagandists, sophisticated political gurus, fundamentalist theocracies etc.

It used to be the idea that a party or group gained power by creating an offering that was attractive to a broad constituency, one-nation Toryism, social democracy, that sort of stuff, now the idea is almost exactly the opposite, to create a split, not a consensus. And it’s very attractive, because it offers the prospect of a “one time win”: win one election or whatever, and use the resulting platform to further promote division, demonising then crushing into a corner your opponents, then literally eliminating them.

[Braceby]

Just trying to remember any Socialist politician that rode a bike? Never seen Starmer, Rayner, Benn, Nandy, Brown or the Shadow Chancellor on two wheels? Dave and Boris set the standard.

For anti bike scruffy white van man takes some beating....

Al

A couple off the top of my head.
Corbyn was often mocked for riding a bike by the likes of the Mail and Express. Dennis Skinner was a lifelong cyclist, even a keen Time Trial rider in his younger days.

White van man is usually very right wing.

[atoz]

Just trying to remember any Socialist politician that rode a bike? Never seen Starmer, Rayner, Benn, Nandy, Brown or the Shadow Chancellor on two wheels? Dave and Boris set the standard.

For anti bike scruffy white van man takes some beating....

Al

A couple off the top of my head.
Corbyn was often mocked for riding a bike by the likes of the Mail and Express. Dennis Skinner was a lifelong cyclist, even a keen Time Trial rider in his younger days.

White van man is usually very right wing.

Agreed. I would also point out that some of the aforementioned Labour politicos could not be described as "Socialists" I mean, Starmer?- I love the way the s word started with a capital S in that post. Posted with feeling..

White van man also doesn't like male cyclists wearing pink..again, this is experience.

[ChrisButch]

Just trying to remember any Socialist politician that rode a bike? Never seen Starmer, Rayner, Benn, Nandy, Brown or the Shadow Chancellor on two wheels? Dave and Boris set the standard.

For anti bike scruffy white van man takes some beating....

Al

A couple off the top of my head.
Corbyn was often mocked for riding a bike by the likes of the Mail and Express. Dennis Skinner was a lifelong cyclist, even a keen Time Trial rider in his younger days.

White van man is usually very right wing.

Agreed. I would also point out that some of the aforementioned Labour politicos could not be described as "Socialists" I mean, Starmer?- I love the way the s word started with a capital S in that post. Posted with feeling..

And never forget Clarion.

[mjr]

Just trying to remember any Socialist politician that rode a bike? Never seen Starmer, Rayner, Benn, Nandy, Brown or the Shadow Chancellor on two wheels? Dave and Boris set the standard.

Hardly! Dave was just copying New Labour, as usual.
Not that some here would call him a socialist...

[Carlton green]

Just trying to remember any Socialist politician that rode a bike? Never seen Starmer, Rayner, Benn, Nandy, Brown or the Shadow Chancellor on two wheels? Dave and Boris set the standard.

Hardly! Dave was just copying New Labour, as usual.
Not that some here would call him a socialist...

Ah, Blair. A man who understood how to win elections and did.

Blair made some mistakes - nearly everyone does - and he wasn’t particularly left wing but, more importantly, he kept those to the political right of him out of power. Anyone want another ten plus years of Tory rule?

[cycle tramp]

...without wishing to divert this thread too far, at least the tory party had the decency to sound like lunatics....

Blair was behind the deaths of civilians, he was also the cause of death for many in our armed forces, and was instrumental in the murder (and subsequent state cover up) of Dr David Kelly

The only reason why Blair and Straw weren't tried as war criminals is down to the fact that during that time, there wasn't a listed law which they broke.

Whilst the regime they fought against was horrific, it had been supported by UK government in the past and its crimes were no more horrific than the current state of China and no one is taking up arms against them.

It was an illegal war based without evidence, in our to punder the natural resources of that country.

To this date Blair has never apologised to the UK for lying, the loss of military personnel (nor the side effects of those experimental drugs which were tested on them) or the deaths of civilians during the campaign.

At least Boris apologised.

[cycle tramp]

Starmer is no better, and appears to be bent on amassing total control of local democracy....

..during one speech he has threatened to remove local planning controls and restrictions allowing more houses to be built (and ignore and over ride any local objections to such schemes) and a fairly high percentage of local councillors have now become independent due to the amount of control he wishes to exercise.

Whilst a crocodile is not a shark, it does not mean that a shark will behave in a better manner to that of the crocodile.

If insanity manifests itself, it's usually in the belief that the sufferer and the sufferer alone has all the answers to all the problems, and everyone else is wrong... never trust an mp, never ever trust a prime minister...(or someone wanting to be one).

[djnotts]

SUV and van drivers will be feeling so much safer today...

"Causing death or serious injury by dangerous or careless cycling is set to become an offence, after the government agreed to a change in the law.

Under the change, dangerous cyclists could face up to 14 years in prison.

It followed campaigning by Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith who said cyclists should be accountable for reckless behaviour.

The former Conservative leader had proposed an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, which is currently going through Parliament.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Sir Iain said his proposal was not "anti-cycling".

"Quite the opposite, it's about making sure this takes place in a safe and reasonable manner."" (BBC News)

No more writing-off 2 tonne 60 grand luxury tanks with my Brompton.....

[Jdsk]

SUV and van drivers will be feeling so much safer today...

"Causing death or serious injury by dangerous or careless cycling is set to become an offence, after the government agreed to a change in the law.

Under the change, dangerous cyclists could face up to 14 years in prison.

It followed campaigning by Tory MP Iain Duncan Smith who said cyclists should be accountable for reckless behaviour.

The former Conservative leader had proposed an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, which is currently going through Parliament.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Sir Iain said his proposal was not "anti-cycling".

"Quite the opposite, it's about making sure this takes place in a safe and reasonable manner."" (BBC News)

No more writing-off 2 tonne 60 grand luxury tanks with my Brompton.....

Discussed here with a link to the official announcement:
viewtopic.php?p=1844841#p1844841

Jonathan