A MOTION to potentially scrap the 20mph speed limits in Wales has been rejected in the Senedd this evening (September 25).

The Welsh Conservatives brought forward a Welsh Parliament vote to scrap the 20mph speed limits in Wales.

This month marks one year since 20mph speed limit zones were introduced across Wales.

The move from 30mph to 20mph was made in order to 'help save lives'. But, it has faced major backlash with members of the public, politicians and more strongly opposing it.

A petition in opposition to the change gathered over 460,000 signatures.

Today, a motion to scrap the 20mph limits in Wales was discussed and voted on by politicians in Cardiff.

But, members voted  37-14 against the Conservative motion.

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Commenting after the debate, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Transport, Natasha Asghar MS, said: “One year on from Labour’s disastrous 20mph rollout and the Welsh Government have continued with their barmy 20mph policy and chosen to ignore the Welsh public.

“The people of Wales want to get on with their daily lives and businesses wish to flourish, yet Labour’s 20mph speed limit is slowing Wales down.

READ MORE: Wales' 20mph speed limit shown to be popular in Powys

 

“Today, the Welsh Labour Government and Plaid Cymru alongside the Liberal Democrats showed how truly out of touch they are with the people of Wales by voting against our motion to end the war on motorists and scrap their controversial 20mph speed limits to get Wales moving in the right direction.”

Lee Waters, the former deputy minister who introduced 20mph, said the policy is achieving its aim, with data showing average speeds are down.

The Labour MS for Llanelli said: “Casualties are down by 32%, which is the single most effective road safety intervention that has been made. And lives have been saved: six fewer deaths in the first six months compared to the year before.

“Now, the Conservatives say that the policy has been disastrous. I think that these are results that we can be proud of. Has our approach been perfect? No, it has not.”

READ MORE: Speed cameras in Powys monitoring 20mph speed limit

 

Conservative MS for Monmouth Peter Fox said: "The simple truth is this whole thing has been handled poorly. As we've heard, almost half a million people told us so and signed a petition, the largest petition in the Senedd's history.

"And we've heard from Natasha, in opening this debate, that we can't ignore people, and she will continue to stand up against this policy, as she's done all the way through. Anger and frustration, she says, still remain, and we can feel that."

Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales Ken Skates said: "This policy was brought in to make places safer, and police data clearly unequivocally shows that collisions on 20 mph and 30 mph roads have reduced since the introduction of 20 mph, the lowest on record outside the COVID pandemic period. Now, it's only been in place for a year, and there is some way to go, and I anticipate numbers may fluctuate, but I think it's encouraging to see that things are moving in the right direction."

Mr Skates added: "It's worth saying that new 20 mph limits are being introduced across England and Scotland as well. Now, things could have been done differently, and this was never going to be an easy policy to implement. It's led to the biggest step change in road safety for a generation, and we'll continue to monitor the long-term trend to evaluate the economic health and environmental impacts of the policy.

"This will include a five-year evaluation, providing a process evaluation report by 2025, a mid-term evaluation report by April 2027, and a final impact evaluation report by 2029."

Following the debate on September 25, Plaid Cymru’s amendment was also voted down, 41-10. The Welsh Government’s amended version of the motion was agreed, 27-24.