The Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has pledged that he is “determined that Britain becomes a cycling nation to rival our European neighbours” in a response sent to British Cycling’s #ChooseCycling network.

The #ChooseCycling network – a group of major British businesses that believe more cycling would be good for their employees and customers – wrote to party leaders in March asking for four key commitments on cycling to be included in manifestos.

Sharing the belief that investing in cycling will help business thrive, encourage people to live healthier lives and to make Britain a more pleasant place to live, the network asked parties to commit to allocate 5% of Britain’s transport budget to cycling, and to set a target for cycling to account for up 10% of all trips.

The response received from the Liberal Democrat party pledges to meet all of these ambitions.

In the letter, Nick Clegg has confirmed that he is “very keen to implement the recommendations of the Get Britain Cycling report” which mirror the key asks of the #ChooseCycling network. 

Clegg confirms that “cycle-proofing our roads is vital to in encouraging more people to cycle, both safely and with confidence.” The Liberal Democrats have also said that they would update planning law to introduce the concept of ‘landscape scale planning,’ ensuring that new developments promote walking and cycling as well as introducing a Green Transport Act.

Commenting on the response, British Cycling’s policy adviser, Chris Boardman, said:

“The Liberal Democrats are the only party to nail their colours to the mast and pledge to implement everything the network is asking for. It’s encouraging to hear that Nick Clegg is passionate about Britain becoming a cycling nation to rival our European neighbours. The difference is that he is actually bold enough to put some numbers and targets against this aim with measures that could have a colossal impact on how people get around.

“If the Liberal Democrats form part of a new coalition we will certainly be pressing them to ensure that these ambitions form a central part of the government’s transport strategy.”

Tomorrow British Cycling will publish the response that it has had from the Green Party. The #ChooseCycling network is still waiting for responses from the Labour Party, Plaid Cymru and UKIP.

Image: Flickr: Liberal Democrats - Creative Commons