Bath’s ousted transport boss has resigned from the Liberal Democrats with a scathing attack on the party’s “compromised” moral compass.
Councillor Joanna Wright, who lost her cabinet role when Kevin Guy swept to power as the new leader of Bath and North East Somerset Council last month, has defected back to the Greens.
She accused the administration of greenwashing, prioritising getting re-elected over people’s lives, and giving ammunition to opponents by sabotaging its own active travel scheme for North Road.
Cabinet members said they had listened to feedback and the proposals had to work for everyone.
Speaking at the cabinet meeting on 23rd June, Cllr Wright said: “This new cabinet has decided not to implement the bus gate on North Road.
“This will give ammunition to the few who will actively oppose liveable neighbourhoods.
“Those who do not want change will at every opportunity remind this cabinet that they gave up on North Road because a few local residents objected.
“This will make liveable neighbourhoods so much harder to deliver.”
Plans to make North Road more bike and pedestrian-friendly were put on hold amid safety concerns and fears residents would be cut off from shops, although some supported the idea in order to cut pollution.
Cllr Wright, a keen advocate of walking and cycling in her previous role, said the scheme would have been a “game changer”.
She previously claimed she had been asked to “dump” the active travel plans, and that was probably why she was no longer in the cabinet.
Cllr Guy said that was “absolutely not the case”.
“The core values of this new cabinet seem to be based upon votes, not lives – listening to a select handful of voices to gain tactical votes rather than delivering positive change for all,” said Cllr Wright.
“I can no longer be a member of a group whose moral compass is so compromised and I am tendering my resignation of the Liberal Democrat party.
“I will now be representing the ward of Lambridge as a Green party member.”
Her former colleagues defended their record.
Deputy leader Sarah Warren, the cabinet member for sustainable travel, said officers were under enormous pressure and it was important to have a manageable number of successful active travel schemes.
The meeting saw schemes for Beckford Road and Upper Bristol Road given the go-ahead.
Cllr Manda Rigby, who took over the transport brief from Cllr Wright, added: “It is incredibly important that these first active travel schemes are seen to work.
“It’s possible to be a supporter of active travel while still not supporting the non-working elements of the schemes that were originally presented.
“I am neither anti-car nor anti-cyclist – I am pro-people.”
Cllr Rigby said schemes elsewhere were removed because the councils did not engage with residents and tarnished the phrase “liveable neighbourhoods”, another manifesto pledge of the Lib Dems. The first phase of the rollout was approved at the meeting, focusing on easy wins.
“We’ve learned from the experience of others. If they aren’t supported they won’t be imposed,” she added.
In a statement, the Lib Dem group said: “We are engaging with our communities in depth to ensure we get sufficient buy-in to our projects that they do not fail and cost time, money, and more importantly make our residents lose faith in investing in schemes to combat the climate emergency.
“We are sorry Jo feels the way she does. We are more than confident however in the people who replaced her being able to deliver and hope she will join with celebrating all our success when even more progress is made.”
It said the administration was making huge progress in its climate change commitments, pointing to cabinet decisions on mass cycling infrastructure it said were “only the start”.
It also highlighted the launch of Bath’s clean air zone, the first outside London, and said the council was planting tens of thousands of trees, making buildings more environmentally friendly and cutting the waste sent to landfill, but acknowledged that Covid had impacted on its plans.
Welcoming Cllr Wright back to her “true political home” after her two-year stint as a Lib Dem, the Greens said they were “the only party committed to real climate action and lasting social justice”.
Stephen Sumner, Local Democracy Reporter
