Driving is a political act in the battle to live independently of the state

Imagine if Sadiq Khan were to propose a special event, to take place this coming September. Cycle-Free Sunday would see all bicycles banned from London. Cars would be permitted to stray into cycle lanes, restoring the streets to something approximating an open road. Pedestrians could enjoy their walks without fear that the Lycra-lout up ahead is going to mount the pavement, or rush dangerously across their path on a zebra crossing. In sum, we would be able to experience our cities differently for a time, free from the machismo and sense of entitlement of a breed of road user who consider themselves a cut above the rest.

If the Mayor of London were to suggest such a thing, you would think him completely mad: it would be governance by prejudice and gimmick. And yet this September, Mr Khan is planning to do precisely this to another set of road users. His “CarFree Day” will see motorists banned from 12.3 miles of roads in the capital. People will be encouraged to see the city “from a different perspective”. “Public space” will be recaptured, say his campaigner allies, and they presumably hope that it will never be taken back.

I understand the arguments: air pollution is obviously a problem, and it is one that is being rapidly addressed through technological progress. But why, then, is Mr Khan banning electric

vehicles from the roads, too, along with hybrids?

It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the green-socialist campaigners he is appeasing are afflicted by pure, ideological car hatred. Some of them see cars as monstrous products of consumerist greed compared to the healthful puritanism of the bike; others regard public transport as the epitome of collectivism, to be encouraged at the expense of the motorist who is considered to clutter up “public space” (we used to call it the road) and get in the way of the buses.

And we are letting them get away with it, all over the country. Unlike in America, the car has not come to be viewed in Britain as an extension and enabler of individualism and freedom. It can take you where you like, when you like. Each car is private property and highly personalised, down to whatever rubbish is stashed in the footwells.

It is also private. Many people like to drive alone, and I don’t blame them. Where else can you find the space to think? And yet we largely take cars for granted, even as everywhere the roads are choked through neglect or active restrictions on the space allowed to drivers.

It is an ideological battle that one side isn’t even aware that it is fighting. Yes, rage against fuel duty, potholes, arbitrary parking fines, senseless road-calming schemes, bus lanes, endless traffic lights, and the outrageously dumb advice that led millions to buy diesels and then get thwacked for doing what they were told. But driving is now also a political act, and restrictions on it are attacks on the ability of individuals to live independently from the state.

It is hard to avoid the conclusion that the green-socialist campaigners Mr Khan is appeasing are afflicted by pure, ideological car hatred