Speed reduction...what really happened?

​20mph….let’s deal with some facts!
A few people have raised 20mph on the doorsteps, and what’s clear to me is the level of misunderstanding that persists, so this post is to clear up some of that…

“Your 20 mph policy”
Nope! Tynwald voted to have 20mph limits, firstly in 2020 and then again in 2023. It wasn’t my policy, it was just on the very large pile of ‘things to be done’ in the Dept of Infrastructure when I joined as Minister.

“You expanded the scope, it was only meant to be Douglas”
Nope! The Tynwald resolution said “All residential streets” and didn’t specify only streets in Douglas.  Anyone claiming that it was only meant to be Douglas needs to read the motion that Tynwald passed more carefully.  And I guess the counter argument is whether it's only Douglas residents that deserve safer streets?

"You decided on Port St Mary's 20mph without asking"
I became Minister in late November 2024, but the previous Minister had already authorised the Port St Mary scheme. The statutory consultation took place in January 2025 - but I was working really hard at resolving the complex issues around the Crogga license during that period (among many other issues) and I wasn't told about the consultation.  However, I am content that the law was followed and the scheme was lawfully implemented.  

“You tried to force it through”
The civil servants published the map of suggestions for the whole island.  It wasn’t a helpful map as it didn’t show the 127 miles of 20mph roads that we already have separately to the new proposals.  And it coloured all the 20mph roads (existing and proposed) in red – which wasn’t a psychologically good colour to pick. 

The law says that the DoI only has to publish speed limit changes for 2 weeks.  I pressed pause on that. Tynwald approved the implementation plan which would have rolled out the scheme, after consultation with each town and village. I then embarked on 7 months of detailed consultation, visiting many of the local authorities, running several drop in sessions and a detailed online consultation with every town and village.  Every community was consulted.  I haven't forced anything through.
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“As Minister you should have stopped this”
Really?  If as Minister I had decided that a Government department would ignore something that Tynwald had told them to do (twice), where would that leave us?  Surely Tynwald should be the ultimate power? I believe very strongly that no Minister should ignore the will of Tynwald. I believe that Tynwald does hold the ultimate say and therefore it really wasn’t within my power as Minister to ignore the will of Tynwald.

“You consulted with Spain”
Nope!  Officers did find evidence from around the world about the impact of speed reduction, but we consulted here on the Island with Island residents.  The results of the Douglas/Onchan consultation were published on the DoI 20mph website. As a consequence the scheme was reviewed and changes were made to some proposals. The DoI Minister promised the results from the North, Central and South consultations would be published in July 2026 (they weren't). 

“You’ve spent £800,000/over a million/(insert inflated number here) on this”
Nope!  The only scheme that has been put in place is a small scheme around Douglas central.  The estimated cost of this scheme was £80,000 because it contained several electronic signs (the school wig wag signs) which are expensive.  When Chris Thomas asked about costs for the whole scheme including officer time the total was £400,000 – for the whole scheme across the Island.
I’ve asked you a million times to stop exaggerating.

“You’ve acted as a dictator”
Really?  No. I’m an evidence based practitioner.  I spent months working my way round the Island consulting with everyone who wanted to have an opinion.  I haven’t dictated anything to anyone, as evidenced by the fact that it hasn’t happened. If I am a dictator, I’m a pretty poor one!

“You were sacked because of 20mph”
Who knows what the Chief Minister was thinking when he sacked me?  It’s true he didn’t like the social media noise about it.  But then social media isn't a barometer about what everyone on the Island thinks.

There were lots of other things going on at the time. I disagreed with the Chief Minister over abandoning the Island Plan commitments about minimum wage. I have been very clear that I didn’t think a £25 million tax threshold giveaway was sensible when the budget required a draw down on reserves. I also wanted to talk publicly about the costs of the Liverpool Landing Stage. There were lots of reasons to remove me from the Council of Ministers and replace me with a ‘yes man’.

“You deserve all the abuse you have received”
Actually I disagree.  The role of a Minister is to deliver on the  Tynwald's instructions, the Department’s plans and commitments.  The Dept of Infrastructure has suffered for years from Ministers who haven’t made decisions about lots of projects and moved things forward.  I took my role seriously, and the 20mph project was just one of many things that needed resolving. 

It is deeply unfortunate that some of my Tynwald colleagues delighted in making inflammatory comments about the scheme rather than engaging constructively with the Department.  Such comments inspired some of the worst aspects of social media commentators including threats and misogyny.  I think those people are all quite sad and need to be pitied. 

Really guys, get away from the screen and out into the real world. Go visit your friends and families. Go for a walk in our beautiful Island.  Life away from social media is great. Stop shit-posting and improve your mental health.