A fanatical obsession with congestion charges, low traffic zones and electric cars is ignoring the needs of the majority of ordinary people
Emergency services rushed to the scene, but struggled to make their way through the protesters. Barricades were thrown up across the streets, and the mood was turning ugly quickly as torches set fire to the hastily assembled pyre, and the flames snarled high into the cold night air. It sounds like a scene from Paris, as strikers fought back against President Macron’s hated pension reforms. Or perhaps from Iran, or Algeria. Instead, it was Rochdale, on the outskirts of Manchester, last Thursday night. As a Low Traffic Neighbourhood was installed, restricting the movement of cars around the area, angry residents denied any meaningful say over a decision that would profoundly change their daily lives took matters into their own hands, setting fire to planters across the road as the only way left of expressing their anger, while other motorists started driving across the streets to get around the bollards blocking their way.
