'I have a feeling Reform candidates haven't done any research other than reading the Daily Mail headlines.'
Reform has pledged to remove all low-traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) across the ten councils it now controls, despite none of those councils having such schemes in place.
Zia Yusaf, the party’s chair, declared a “large-scale reversal” of existing LTNs following the party’s local election gains on May 1.
Speaking to the Telegraph on May 17, Yusuf said:
“We view these schemes with the same suspicion as mass immigration and net zero… You can expect, if you live in a Reform council, for there to be a much higher bar for any proposals for LTNs and for the large-scale reversal of these existing LTNs.”
However, as the Guardian first reported, none of the ten councils – Derbyshire, Doncaster, Durham, Kent, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, North Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, or West Northamptonshire – currently operate LTNs.
LTNs are traffic-control schemes designed to prevent cars from cutting through residential streets, often using bollards or number-plate recognition cameras. While critics argue they shift traffic to busier roads, research suggests LTNs are generally effective and enjoy strong public support.
Reform’s pledge to scrap non-existent schemes was quickly mocked on social media.
“I hear they’ve also vowed to clamp down on the number of elephants being cruelly exploited to deliver takeaways,” one user joked.
Another said: “Still ‘cosplaying’ at politics!”
“I have a feeling Reform candidates haven’t done any research other than reading the Daily Mail headlines,” another post read.
Others pointed to the potential consequences of such a policy in areas where LTNs are in place.
“So if Reform get into areas where LTNs are in place. They will cost taxpayers money by removing them and death rates due to speeding traffic will rise.”
A Liberal Democrat source also voiced criticism: “Reform are utterly clueless about how to run a council. From councillors who won’t take up their seats to schemes that don’t exist, it’s clear that they don’t understand the needs of their communities.
“Now they have some power, they need to learn how to Google things first. Liberal Democrats will be holding Reform’s feet to the fire and standing up for our communities,” they said.
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