Former health secretary Wes Streeting has criticised the timing of the government’s recent pledge to spend £4.5bn on cycling and walking over the next five years. The announcement was made on the same day that defence secretary John Healey resigned in protest at Labour’s spending plans, says Roads.cc.
On Thursday, Healey and one of his junior ministers Al Carns resigned from the government citing concerns that the upcoming defence investment plan was being underfunded, with Healey accusing prime minister Keir Starmer in his resignation letter of failing to provide the money required to “defend the country at a time of rising threats”.
Later that evening, the government officially unveiled the UK’s third Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy – the first to be published under Labour – promising an active travel spend of £4.5bn over the next five years, in a bid to ensure that over half of all short journeys at least partially include cycling or walking by 2035.
In an appearance on the New Statesman’s Politics Show podcast, Streeting claimed the timing of the active travel funding announcement represented “bad policy as well as bad politics”.
“There isn’t sufficient grip, direction, or leadership at the heart of the government,” Streeting said. “The problem that comes with that is when there are choices and trade-offs to be made, the prime minister has to make them. They have to be the right choices and they have to be explained clearly to the country.
“And what I find quite extraordinary about [the defence spending crisis] is that two things have become clear. One thing we already knew or expected, which is that the prime minister wasn’t prepared to confront the choices and trade-offs to fund defence.
“But secondly, the plan itself wasn’t right. You have to make sure you have the right plan, which is a plan to invest in and modernise defence to meet the challenges that we’re facing now and into the future.”
He continued:
“Then you’ve got to make the right choices. I personally find it extraordinary, both as a matter of policy choice and of political judgment, that here we are, the day after John and Al Carns’ resignation, the government announces £4.5 billion for walking and cycling.
“Now, as a former health secretary, I’m all in favour of walking and cycling. I think these are good things. But would people honestly say, if you’ve got a defence secretary saying there is insufficient funding to keep our country safe, would you the very next day – as a matter of style, let alone substance – have an announcement of £4.5bn for walking and cycling? That’s not a choice I would make.
“I think it’s a really good example of bad judgment as well as bad politics. Bad policy as well as bad politics.”
(Picture: UK Parliament)
