A Liberal Democrat manifesto for Suffolk

Whilst I might be best described as semi-detached from party activity in Suffolk - you only really appreciate what's going on if you hold some sort of organisational position unless you work at it - I do still get the various e-mails, and today news reached me of the launch of the Liberal Democrat manifesto for May's County Council election. And, as someone who 'has views', you won't be surprised to hear that I read it with some curiosity.

I have to admit that I'm impressed - it actually looks like a programme for (local) government - and I particularly approve of the transport section, which reads;

Integral to our plan is providing a safe, carbon efficient, and high-quality transport system, and attending to our neglected roads, cycle routes and public transport. Our transport plans include:

• Introduce county-wide electric vehicle charge scheme by 2023, and no new home should be built without one.

• All council vehicles to be zero emission by 2029 by securing a pool of electric cars for staff business use.

• Support for rural public transport with a council owned bus company motivated by service, not profit, with buses to be ultra-low emission by 2025. We will start with a demand-scoping exercise on where priority demand is for bus routes.

• Re-enable the use of concessionary bus passes on community transport.

• Encourage cycling with electric bike grants and more cycle lanes, improve cycling infrastructure and maintain existing routes.

• Implement more 20mph areas where they are supported by residents and couple these to the Quiet Lanes project.

• Lobby for more direct rail freight network investment to our port.

• Investigate alternative options to relieve the northern traffic inflow into Ipswich, such as more park and rides into town, improvements for cyclists, better traffic management, and possibly a second Orwell crossing, rather than the expensive and environmentally ruinous Northern Bypass.

It makes perfect sense to start building infrastructure to support electric vehicles and, in a county where most households have at least one car, building new homes with their own charging point should be a no-brainer.

I like the idea of a council owned bus company, because one of Suffolk's weaknesses is that its bus network is highly fragmented, with First Group and Ipswich Buses competing in the county town and its environs, and the rural network split between a myriad of small providers until you get to the Cambridge hinterland, when Stagecoach dominate.

Naturally, I support the Quiet Lanes initiative - Ros "invented" them as part of her input into the 2000 Transport Act - and they may improve pedestrian and cycling usage.

But, perhaps predictably, my warmest welcome is for the reference to re-enable the use of concessionary bus passes on community transport. Here in Mid Suffolk, the County Council signed a contract which meant that the contracted provider didn't accept them, which seemed hugely unfair given the number of small villages without regular bus services and the number of elderly residents who would certainly benefit from the community transport option.

It's a bit of a longshot for the Conservatives to lose control here in Suffolk - the combined Opposition are coming from a long way back with the Conservatives holding 49 out of the 75 seats, with two more ex-Conservatives in the chamber - but you never know after what happened here in Mid Suffolk in 2019.

It is, I admit, nice to see a manifesto that offers a meaningful programme of change, and hopefully it will be a means towards arguing the case for more liberalism in a county that's been a bit short of it in recent times.