What Scotland’s political parties told us at the online hustings

With the Scottish Parliament election approaching on 7 May, you may be wondering what the next Scottish Parliament will do for walking, wheeling and cycling?

Cycling UK, Walk Wheel Cycle Trust and Women on Wheels can offer some insight after our joint ‘online active travel hustings’, on 14 April.

You can also take our supporter action and let your candidates know that cycling matters to you in this election.

Hustings recap

The need for a dedicated active travel hustings reflects a growing demand for change – whether that’s thousands joining Cycling UK’s ‘glow rides’ to call for better streets; the huge increase in commuters on South City Way, where bikes have outnumbered cars at rush hour; or community projects like Women on Wheels whose rides and training sessions are always fully booked.

The numbers attending and the huge number of questions we received, show that walking, wheeling and cycling matter to people across Scotland.

We brought together representatives from across the political spectrum to answer questions on how they would enable more people to walk, wheel or cycle. The discussion was excellently hosted by Laura Anderson, climate activist, scientist and member of the Scottish Advisory Committee for Cycling UK.

Our panel for the event:

• Mark Ruskell – Scottish Green Party – Candidate for Mid Scotland and Fife
• Stephen Jenkinson – Scottish Labour Party – Councillor for Pentland Hills Ward Edinburgh
• Maree Todd – Scottish National Party (SNP) – Candidate for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross
• Brian Whittle – Scottish Conservatives – Candidate for East Kilbride
• Sally Pattle – Scottish Liberal Democrats – Candidate for Dunblane and Clackmannanshire
• Graham Simpson – Reform UK – Candidate for Central Scotland

What did parties say on the night?

Representatives of all six parties agreed that everyone in Scotland should be able to cycle more easily, and a priority for all parties was enabling more women and girls to cycle.

Safety, women and inclusive design

The first questions on the night came from co-organisers Women on Wheels, about how to make cycling more accessible, especially for women. The panellists’ answers quickly centred on perceptions of safety as a key issue.

Each party had different solutions to how they might make the roads feel safer, with women being more involved in planning and designing places, separated high-quality infrastructure, multi-year revenue funding and properly networked routes all being mentioned.

These are all things we have been calling for through our ‘My Ride. Our right’ women’s safety campaign, and we need to know how each party would deliver if elected.

Investment: How much and for how long?

Women on Wheels also described some of the challenges around uncertain and short-term funding, something which is familiar to councils delivering cycling infrastructure projects and organisations delivering community projects.

The panellists acknowledged the need for of multi‑year funding both for councils building cycle routes and organisations delivering programmes – however there were differences in how, and when, that might be achieved.

There was widespread recognition that active travel is essential if Scotland is to meet its climate and public health goals, and that walking, cycling and wheeling must be at the forefront of the next government’s thinking when considering the rising cost of living.

There are differences across party manifesto commitments, however there was consensus on the night that enabling more people to cycle is essential to tackling many of Scotland’s biggest challenges.

Cycling UK has long called for 10% of the transport budget to be spent on active travel, and we’ve been joined by more than 60 organisations who’ve also signed a Joint Active Travel Manifesto which includes that core manifesto ask.

Other talking points  

It was encouraging to hear perspectives from both urban and rural representatives, with agreement that more cycling for everyday journeys isn’t just needed in cities.

However, for cycling to be the easy option for everyone in Scotland, it’s clear we need improved links between towns and villages, better bike parking and storage options and better integration between cycling, walking and public transport – all points which the panel agreed with.

Several panellists argued that people are more likely to leave their car at home when alternatives are convenient, affordable and joined up. Getting more people out of cars for short journeys remains a challenge in Scotland but it is possible if we have well-networked walking and cycle routes which we know are popular in communities across Scotland.

So, what did we learn?

Despite political differences, the hustings revealed notable areas of agreement, including that:

• The people planning and designing streets and routes need to think about the needs of women, children and other vulnerable people, and the journeys they make, from the start.
• Walking, cycling and wheeling are essential if we’re to make how we travel fairer in Scotland.
• Improving safety is key to getting more people walking, wheeling and cycling.
• Funding for walking, cycling and wheeling must be stable and long term
• Cycling and walking routes must be properly networked and integrated with public transport to create lasting change.

We know that walking, wheeling and cycling are popular and cost-effective ways to travel which save people money, support the local economy, have huge health benefits and are good for communities. And while the hustings revealed areas of consensus with well-informed discussion, there were also clear differences.

As we get closer to 7 May, we’re considering what we learnt at the hustings and what parties are saying in their manifestos – so that walking, wheeling and cycling are properly supported in Holyrood. We’ll also be joining ‘Pedal On Parliament’ on 31 May, to show the new Scottish Government that cycling matters.

If you have two minutes to spare, please do also act now to ensure walking, wheeling and cycling are on every candidate’s agenda – use our supporter action to contact your candidates.