Conservatives told they can't promise to overturn 20mph speed limit in Wales

The Conservatives have pledged to scrap Wales' 20mph speed limit policy should they win the General Election on July 4 but opponents say they don't have the power to do so.

Rishi Sunak unveiled the party's manifesto for the upcoming election, with the prime minister addressing a crowd of reporters at the Silverstone race circuit on Tuesday.

It contains a series of policies aimed at reducing the burden on motorists, with one key promise to reverse the Welsh Government's controversial 20mph speed limit policy.

In September 2023, the Welsh Government implemented a 20mph speed limit across largely built-up areas of the country, a move backed by the former First Minister Mark Drakeford's government.

Though after becoming first minister in March, Vaughan Gething and his government have promised to make changes to how the limit is enforced.

The Conservatives have said they will pass a law in Westminster to override the 20mph policy made by Labour Welsh government ministers in Cardiff.

This promise is detailed in the party's manifesto. It pledges to extend the newly announced "Backing Drivers Bill" to Wales, aiming to reverse the 20mph speed limit by requiring local consent for 20mph zones and giving local communities the legal right to challenge existing zones.

The promise was made in the party manifesto, where the 'Wales' section, on page 74 of the 80-page document, includes a promise to expand a newly-announced Backing Drivers Bill to Wales.

The manifesto says: "We will expand our Backing Drivers' Bill to cover Wales, reversing Labour's blanket 20mph speed limit by requiring local consent for 20mph zones and giving local communities the legal right to challenge existing zones."

Despite these promises, road transport is a devolved matter under the authority of the Welsh Government.

While Parliament can still legislate in Wales, there is a convention that this should be done with the Senedd's agreement, which is highly unlikely in this case.

A Welsh Government spokesperson reiterated that speed limits in Wales are a wholly devolved matter, over which the UK Government has no jurisdiction.

During First Minister's Questions in the Senedd, Welsh Labour leader Vaughan Gething criticsed the Conservative manifesto, describing it as an enormous assault on devolution within the drivers bill, and called it "an absolute disgrace".

A Welsh Conservative spokesperson argued that Labour's 20mph speed limit would negatively impact the Welsh economy by billions of pounds at a time when bold action is needed to kickstart the economy and create jobs.

They proposed that the UK Government would work with the Senedd to pass a motion in support of the bill, aiming to reverse Labour's 20mph speed limit and devolve power further down to local communities who understand their needs best.

Welsh Secretary David TC Davies defended the plan, denying that it would undermine devolution. Speaking to S4C's Y Byd yn ei Le, he asserted that law and order are not devolved issues and that the UK Government has the right to scrutinise the Welsh Government's actions.

He argued that the Welsh Government must listen to Welsh people, referring to the half a million signatures on a petition against the 20mph speed limit.

The Welsh Secretary suggested that the Welsh Government might be overstepping into reserved areas such as law and order and justice, and insisted that this does not undermine devolution.

Plaid Cymru Westminster leader Liz Saville-Roberts countered that the UK Government has no authority over speed limits in Wales and dismissed Sunak's campaign as a desperate populist tactic.

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