Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government has approved a rollout of the also so-called “Stalinist” 15-minute cities across the Great Britain.
According to a report by The Telegraph, ministers have said that they will allow councils to use driver license databases to issue fines on drivers who fall foul of traffic filters, which restrict driving in certain areas.
The controls which are due to be implemented on motorists for the first time in Oxford’s city center later this year, have been described as perverse by motor groups.
The Telegraph reports: The 15-minute city is based on the idea that a person can access amenities within a quarter of an hour by walking or cycling. In some cases, this could result in traffic restrictions being brought in for drivers.
The most high-profile example of such a plan is in Oxford, where the council put forward proposals to divide the city into six 15-minute neighborhoods.
Under the scheme, drivers would need a residents’ permit that allows 100 days of free travel per year through six traffic filters during operating hours.
Meanwhile, a separate permit allows 25 days of free travel per year through six congestion charge locations during charging hours, and after this, drivers face fines if they travel without the relevant permission.
Greg Smith, shadow transport minister, said: This is the blueprint for a national rollout. Labour has given the green light for draconian councils like Oxfordshire to police how people live, move and drive, using cameras and fines backed by DVLA data.
Oxford is the test case, but this is Labour’s blueprint for the country.
A page out of the East Germany Playbook
Duncan White, director, of the Alliance of British Drivers said 15-minute cities were an abomination. He said it was a perverse and Stalinist approach to social control, adding: It is an encroachment on civil liberties, and it is a page out of the East Germany playbook.
With the 15-minute city, you will have to, in effect, apply for an internal passport to go and visit your granny. From a civil liberties perspective, it is nonsensical. From an operational point of view, it is bizarre.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, said: What local authorities sometimes struggle to remember is that the car remains and continues to remain the main method which people use to travel around our country.
Cars coming into the town centers generate a huge amount of parking revenue for local authorities, and the local high street is dependent on strong, consistent footfall, and cars are probably the easiest way for people to get in and out of town centers.
We don’t want barriers that harm the national economy and the local economy.
Under the previous government, plans were drawn up to block councils from using the driver license database to implement traffic restriction measures.
In 2023, the Tories announced that they would consult on legislative changes and new guidance, including removing councils’ access to DVLA data where schemes relied on excessive camera enforcement, rationed car use, or failed to command the backing of residents and local businesses.
Simon Lightwood, the local transport minister, responded to a parliamentary question by Richard Holden, the shadow transport secretary, by confirming Labour would proceed with this approach.
This means councils across the country could follow Oxford’s lead and introduce camera-enforced traffic filters.
News Punch / ABC Flash Point News 2026.
All the above statements in the article are absolutely TRUE I live in the UK ,Scotland to be precise .They tried it in the small fishing village I live in where the bus service is 30 minutes and the nearest affordable shops are 10 miles away.. I fought against it they wanted me to cycle 10 miles with my messages piled on my handlebars through rural narrow roads and guess which European country had its citizens visit here including one or two actual residents ?? Why — Holland/Netherlands of course !!! where they have excellent public transport while we have… Read more »
Unfortunately that is exactly the point the government tries to make, unpractical to the bone for <free> humans to change their tone?
However the Dutch infrastructure development was entirely paid with the money made in their East Indies and West Indies colonies where slaves were used to pump up the royal and business profits?
Thats a good point BT .
In the mid-1930’s Victor Rothschild stated that by the year 2000 JewK would be communist but not in name. Looks like Old Vic was a couple of decades off though.
About the same time he also took control of the BBC and appointed homosexuals in leading positions. He knew that homosexuality and pedophilia was two sides of the same coin.
They are much easier to control. That is why they have covered for pedophiles for decades like Jimmy Savile.
They will make 15 minute dungeons. Go in, and 15 minutes later you turn into ashes.