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Rafe Smyth

@rafe-s.bsky.social
419 followers 1K following 132 posts

Climate, infrastructure(s), nature, interdisciplinary, radical pragmatism, solutions Based in London, UK. Don't see DMs.

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Reposted by Rafe Smyth
Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
New data shows July was the worst on record for wildfires in England The PM's upcoming Wildfire Summit must make “radical changes to how we fire-proof our landscapes– by restoring peat bogs, ponds and wetlands – & cut out the fossil fuels making wildfires worse” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
theguardian.com
July 2026 was worst on record for wildfires in England, data shows
Devastating blaze near Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk among a record 624 wildfires in July this year
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Maybe a big donor winning strategy at least?
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Deregulate-to-cost (instead of spend-to-save) would increase people's living costs far into the future. With drought restrictions still applying to much of England and many worried about affordability of winter heating, could the Tories' timing be any worse?
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Electronic Frontier Foundation @eff.org · 01/10/2026
Today we’re launching Opt Out October, our guide for opting out of certain features and finding alternatives to products made by big tech companies. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
eff.org
Happy Opt Out October! Let’s Find Real Alternatives to the Tech Giants
Over the years, the major tech companies have found all sorts of ways to embed themselves into our lives. We often use their software, their AI tools, their social media, and their operating systems
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
In order to try to build (or at least consent) more homes, the 2026 NPPF has chipped away at ambition to plan positively for the future. It promotes providing "a suitable number" of parking spaces and prevents local authorities seeking safety improvements, unless an "unacceptable impact".
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
But other changes suggested by @transportaction.bsky.social didn't make it through. Policy made by the last Labour govt explicitly supported housing being made "car free, where there is sufficient access by non car modes" and improving road safety. webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/201209...
webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
For a decade, planning policy in England defined cars as "sustainable" if they were low (exhaust) emission, ignoring their wider impacts on people, place-making and nature. A small change slipped out in the new #NPPF last month corrected that. Happy #WorldCarFreeDay!
Screenshot of definition of sustainable transport modes from December 2024 version of NPPF, with the words "ultra low and zero emission vehicles" highlighted.Screenshot of text from August 2025 NPPF showing cars are no longer explicitly defined as sustainable. Words shown are: "Sustainable transport modes: Any efficient, safe and accessible means of transport with overall low impact on the environment, including walking, wheeling, cycling and public transport." 
Source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-frameworkPhotograph of new red brick semi-detached housing in Kent. The public realm is full of motor vehicles, with all the pavements blocked by parked cars and vans.
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Simon Oldridge @sioldridge.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
It’s extraordinary that as we breach 1.5° - which only in 2018, the IPCC said wouldn’t be reached until 2040 - that the PM is still holding up net zero by 2050 as an adequate response!

 The threat level has changed dramatically since the UK adopted its NZ by 2050 aim. Just a few examples: 🧵
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Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Incredible reporting.
bloomberg.com
Inside the US ‘Kill Chain’ That Destroyed an Iranian School
Pentagon investigators have discovered that flawed intelligence, outdated imagery and an overreliance on AI contributed to a missile strike that killed 123 children in Minab.
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Carlton Reid @carltonreid.com · 18/09/2026
In 2012, Addison Lee boss John Griffin was all over the news when he ranted that cyclists should “pay road tax.” Yesterday, HMRC won its case saying that, since 2013, the taxi man has been avoiding paying income tax. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Telegraph headline from 2012:

Cyclists should pay road tax, says taxi boss Careless cyclists are on a
'voyage into the abyss'
The head of London's largest minicab company says cyclists should think more about their own safety before "throwing themselves on to some of the most congested spaces in the world".Guardian headline today:

Addison Lee founder owes
£20.5m in tax after UK tribunal ruling
HMRC wins challenge over John Griffin's claim to be non-dom despite having lived in England since childhood. With pic of old man in office.
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Doesn't apply to experimental orders lapsing, so couldn't be used to save the K High St pandemic era cycle lane. Sure there's a good FoI/EIR request for you to see how much this power used.
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Actually that's not correct. TfL can veto boroughs making changes to what are confusingly called strategic roads, a special designation of borough roads: www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/47... Whether TfL uses its powers is another matter.
legislation.gov.uk
The Traffic Management (Strategic Roads in Greater London) Designation Order 2005
Section 60 of the Traffic Management Act 2004 enables the Secretary of State to designate roads and proposed roads in Greater London, other than roads for which the Secretary of State or Transport for...
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Another Burnham decision that's aged badly quickly. Is his judgement turning out better than Starmer's on the big issues?
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
A serious democratic society simply cannot allow this. That's £72 million from just two men. (Both, until lately, based overseas). The average UK earner (full-time) would have to work for over 1,800 years to raise that much. It's a nuclear strike on any pretence at the equality of political power
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Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
The failure to understand the limits of Russian military power before the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine was until that time the greatest failure in modern strategic analysis. The failure to understand the limits of US military power since February 2026 might be worse.
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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
NEW Why holding a placard is a terrorist act, while causing disruption in a balaclava is not The mess caused by ministers and the police not taking terrorism law seriously By me at @prospectmagazine.co.uk www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...

Recent events in England now reveal the practical difference between terrorists and protesters. It would seem that terrorists peacefully hold placards and get immediately arrested, while protesters wear black uniforms and balaclavas and disrupt infrastructure and do not get arrested.

How did we get into this mess? How have we placed ourselves in the position where terrorism legislation is used to detain and prosecute peaceful protesters, while those adopting the terror tactics of private armies seem to be free to do as they wish?

The reason is that for some time British politicians have not taken terrorism legislation seriously, and that ministers have got into the habit of misusing terror laws for easy targets.
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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 07/09/2026
If every statement about Extinction Rebellion had opened with "Climate change is the single biggest issue facing humanity, and we understand why people have legitimate concerns the world isn't doing enough to tackle it…" this approach might be *faintly* defensible. But they didn't, and it isn't.
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Government to ban legal challenges against large data centres www.gov.uk/government/p...
gov.uk
The Simplification and Agency of Government - Letter to all ministers
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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Half-expecting government to announce VAT cut on balaclavas to help with cost of living.
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#CarbonReckoning (Andrew Boswell) @drandrewboswell.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
🧵1/ Very grateful to @graceblakeley.substack.com for this guest blog on how promoters of carbon capture and storage (CCS) are trying to give Andy #Burnham a deceptively neat-looking get-out-of-jail-free card to drill Rosebank and Jackdaw. This thread explains its flawed carbon accounting
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James McAsh @jamesmcash.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Our local MP, Miatta Fahnbulleh, faces a choice: protect the planet and the people of Peckham or prioritise the profits of polluters. Help her make the right one. Tell her: No New Oil & Gas. Sign the petition 📝 www.southwarkgreenparty.org.uk/nonewoilandgas
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
25% turnout for the Greater Manchester Mayoral Election. Nearly 3/4 of voters didn't show up for a contest, whose previous winner has just become prime minister. We shouldn't be blase about this: it raises big questions about the health of our democracy & the public appetite for the mayoral model.
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Actually now London is getting "county-style" bus cuts, which the £2 fare cap is a handy distraction from. www.countycouncilsnetwork.org.uk/news/one-in-... www.standard.co.uk/news/transpo...
standard.co.uk
Revealed: 40 London bus routes have been cut back in last two years
Inner London boroughs such as Camden, Islington, Hackney and Westminster have borne the brunt of the changes
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James Murray @james-bg.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
I get no one wants to be the boy who cried wolf, but at the end of the story there was a great big wolf. If the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut the crisis the IEA and others feared will eventually arrive, probably just as the northern hemisphere winter starts.
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Thing is CB6 is built on assumption that UK is on track to meet 2030 NDC. In turn, CCC's advice on CB7 simply assumes CB6 will be met on time. So it's not just that the UK pathway (targets & budgets) isn't aligned to latest science, it's also not aligned to latest delivery progress either.
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
First things first, rapidly come up with credible plan to UK's 2030 target. Otherwise this year's fires will look like a good year. bsky.app/profile/rafe...
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Actually A428 approval was challenged by @transportaction.bsky.social on climate and biodiversity grounds as well as the failure to consider alternatives. More broadly, yes there was silence. transportactionnetwork.org.uk/why-we-are-c...
transportactionnetwork.org.uk
Why We Are Challenging the A428 Road Scheme
Transport Action Network director Chris Todd spoke with Babs Michel on BBC Three Counties Radio about the £1bn A428 road scheme and why we submitted an application to the High Court for permission for...
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Nicolas Hénin @nicolashenin.net · 20/07/2026
On X, freedom of expression is just like the definition of hate speech: it’s all relative.
Tweets by UK in Jerusalem @UKinJerusalem
X.com
1/4 Joint local statement of diplomatic missions BRIE
DIon the extensive use of administrative detention by Israeli authorities without formal charge. Over 9,000 Palestinians are detained in Israeli prisons, including thousands held without charge or trial.
8:00 a.m. • 19/07/2026 • 53K Views
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2/4 Human rights organisations describe prison conditions for Palestinians as severe and life-threatening, citing inadequate food, denial of medical care and systematic abuse. We are deeply concerned by recent reports regarding the deterioration of Dr. Abu Safiyah's health.
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UK in Jerusalemes
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3/4 Detainees have the right to be informed about the charges underlying any detention, must be granted access to legal assistance, and be subject to a fair trial.
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UK in Jerusalemba
@UKinJerusalem • 10h
4/4 We call on Israel to uphold its human rights obligations towards detainees under international law, including by granting the ICRC immediate access to all detention facilities. We welcome the recent Israeli Supreme Court ruling on ICRC access and urge its full implementation.
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X suspends accounts which violate the X Rules
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
"The risk is that Labour have picked a leader who communicates well, but whose instincts are wrong.... a Prime Minister who reaches for gasfields and dockyards every time he needs to frame his vision"
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
New drilling isn't just a catastrophic signal of us stepping back from our climate commitments, it also runs against the geological reality of an almost depleted resource. Our focus should be on cheap, clean fuel for the future - not propping up oil and gas. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Burnham to Back North Sea Oil and Take Control of Thames Water
Within days of taking office incoming prime minister Andy Burnham is preparing to announce new drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea as well as taking public control of Thames Water.
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
As we face unprecedented heatwave, construction sector pleads to "recommit to current infrastructure plans". Reminder: (1) Govt says it won't cut rail but will consult on cutting road schemes. (2) Transport emissions up over last two years, so radical change now urgent. ice.org.uk/news-views-i...
ice.org.uk
Industry Leaders Urge New UK PM To Stick To Existing Infrastructure Plans
In an open letter signed by 27 built environment and industry bodies, the sector warned that “now is not the time to go back to square one”.
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
As much as 40 percent of longform posts on LinkedIn and X that users actually see are fully AI-generated, according to new research Particularly notable because we know these platforms are flooded with slop, but this studied what the algorithm actually shows people www.404media.co/linkedin-and...
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
"and of course increasing traffic demand across the area" Surely time for TfL to get a grip and ensure the borough acts in accordance with the Mayor's Transport Strategy and its legal duties?
Graph showing motor traffic in Wandsworth declining massively since 2000. Source: https://roadtraffic.dft.gov.uk/local-authorities/E09000032
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Generally the guidance is very lose. But, speaking as a just about recovered lawyer, the passage above reads like it was tightly drafted by a developer lawyer determined to prevent legal challenges! Good developers will continue to engage, bad ones will do what they want.
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
And beyond the clear steer in black letter law, guidance and departmental press releases, there's a huge lobbying operation going on. www.ft.com/content/8cb4... Whether explicitly or implicitly, this framing is also going to influence decisions of the Planning Inspectorate, judiciary etc.
ft.com
Data centres are a crucial test of US industrial resolve
America must not repeat the mistakes that handed China rare-earth dominance
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Mandatory? More like wishful thinking! Guidance already out.
Screenshot of text saying:
2.4 The degree to which the applicant has chosen to carry out pre-application engagement and consultation, and the applicant’s approach to this, is not a statutory consideration in determining whether an application should be accepted in accordance with section 55 of the Planning Act. The adequacy of any engagement or consultation is also not a consideration in the assessment of a DCO application.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/planning-act-2008-guidance-on-the-acceptance-stage-of-an-application
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
When MPs were debating what's now the Planning & Infrastructure Act 2026, "consultation" was treated like a dirty word. As the backlash against tech overreach and data centre imposition surges, might their stance then soon come back to haunt them?
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
Is that right? While data centres can "opt in" to being consented nationally rather than locally, the size thresholds haven't been published yet. www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/13... Meanwhile from 24 July, statutory requirements for NSIP consultations are abolished. www.gov.uk/government/n...
legislation.gov.uk
The Infrastructure Planning (Business or Commercial Projects) (Amendment) Regulations 2026
These Regulations amend the Infrastructure Planning (Business or Commercial Projects) Regulations 2013 to add data centres to the prescribed description of business or commercial projects (or proposed...
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Diane Coyle @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Of course unions look out for their members but it defies belief that they chose *this week* to lobby for more North Sea oil drilling. They should be lobbying for super-generous retraining terms.
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
6. And finally, there's understandably a big focus on how climate policies can go hand-in-hand with helping on cost of living. Wouldn't it be good to also show the potential savings of policies that enable households to give up a car though? Rather than just electrifying Business as Usual?
Figure 1 from CCC report, a bar chart showing typical household energy and transport spend. Cheapest is electric, flex and solar, while most expensive is electric and public charging, with fossil in middle.
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
5. It's really welcome that @thecccuk.bsky.social highlight modal shift as a way to cut emissions faster. But its recommendations ignore the need to shift national funding from road to rail. Starting to look out-of-date on devolution, e.g. need for accountability on climate outputs & outcomes.
Table of surface transport recommendations from CCC report.
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
4. By contrast, the report says the UK is likely to meet the Sixth Carbon Budget (CB6) covering 2033-37. But only due to a risky ramp-up in Carbon Capture & Storage along with offsetting International Aviation and Shipping.
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
3. Today's report confirms that the UK is not on track for its 2030 target, the first ever one aligned to #netzero. The govt's 2025 plan delivers only a 65% cut compared to the 68% in the UK's international commitment. Far greater annual reductions needed to 2030, 62% greater than 2022-25 average.
Figure 2.2 from CCC report, a bar chart showing average annual reductions achieved by UK and amount required each year to 2030 and end of CB6.
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
ELECTRIFY!⚡ _So you're calling for rail electrification at last?_ 😍 Err 😳
Screenshot of 189 page CCC 2026 progress report  with a search box for the word rail. The message "Phrase not found" appears
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
2. And it gets worse. We've been going in the wrong direction two years in a row. DfT ministers and officials keep talking up their progress decarbonising transport. Yet corrected figures now show that these emissions actually *grew* in 2024 rather than *shrunk*.
Figure 1.3, a bar chart showing provisional versus final figures for UK sectoral emissions 2023-24. Transport provisionally showed a big drop but that has been corrected to a small increase in final figures.
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Wondering why it was too hot to sleep last night? Today's @thecccuk.bsky.social report shows carbon emissions from UK surface transport grew significantly in 2025, the only sector to do so. As the biggest sector, transport is particularly responsible for #climate breakdown.
A bar chart showing change in UK emissions for 2024-25 by sector. Transport is the only sector showing an increase. Note these are provisional figures quoted by CCC in https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/progress-in-reducing-emissions-2026-report-to-parliament
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Desperate bid to move forward on Heathrow expansion in dying hours of Starmer premiership? ⌛🛬 New "Critical National Growth Infrastructure" phrase rolled out to try to steamroll legitimate questions. How on earth can this climate trashing scheme be justified as improving resilience? 🌡️🔥
Image of expanded Heathrow airport showing huge landtake on grey map.
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Isn't that a detail for agreement at the local level? At the strategic level, CWIS3 says nothing about how/ when active travel outcomes with big city mayors will be agreed. These were supposed to drive ambition and delivery. Lack of urgency here increases risk of funding being shifted elsewhere.
Text from West Midlands Outcome Framework table showing active travel stages and network metrics "to be agreed" following publication of CWIS3. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69c3e29123fcbcd838a6f644/West_Midlands_Combined_Authority_-_Integrated_Settlement_Outcomes_Framework.pdf
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Sorry but you may have been conned, those commitments don't even appear in CWIS3. bsky.app/profile/rafe...
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Rafe Smyth @rafe-s.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
There are about 25,000 schools in England, so today's promise of 5,000 miles of new safe routes by 2035 means...do the math. Actually you don't even need to bother. That 5,000 figure and the 10,000 new crossings are just "intentions", not even actual targets in the plan.
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