GoBike Scottish Holyrood 2021 Election Hustings

For the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections our traditional hustings will take place online on Monday the 12th April from 7pm. Representatives of the various political parties will present their policies for improving provision for wheeling, walking and cycling in Scotland, they will answer our questions and yours, and there will also be an opportunity for them to debate the relevant issues for active travel.

We can confirm that a representative from each of the five major political parties will attend and have so far had named confirmations from:

Patrick Harvie – Scottish Green Party
Alex Rowley – Scottish Labour Party
Graham Simpson – Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Kaukab Stewart – Scottish National Party
David McKenzie – Scottish Liberal Democrats

As with most things over the past year, this event will be online. Please sign up here (link) for free to receive instructions on how to join us. The hustings is open to all with an interest in active travel, so we hope as many of our members and friends can attend.

Our hustings will run under the Wheel, Walk, Cycle Vote banner where we will focus our questions around their three pledges on accessibility, infrastructure and investment.

Walk, Wheel, Cycle, Vote is a collaborative campaign asking all candidates for the Scottish Parliament to sign up to three clear pledges that will make Scotland a country where everyone has the choice to walk, wheel or cycle in safety for their everyday journeys. The pledges are:

  • Accessibility: Ensure that our streets, paths and footways are accessible to everyone, whether on foot or using any form of mobility aid; by putting accessibility at the heart of our street design, we will create places everyone can use and enjoy.
  • Infrastructure: Create a long-term programme to rebuild our villages, towns and cities around walking, wheeling and cycling, with active travel infrastructure everyone can use – the initial goal should be that every child who wants to can walk, wheel or cycle to their school.
  • Investment: Provide the sustained, long-term investment needed to start this transformation of Scotland into a country that enables active travel everywhere – starting from 10% of the transport budget, and rising to 20% over the course of the parliament.

Read the asks in full here.