The co-leader of the Green Party and a second Bristol councillor have reacted to Jacob Rees-Mogg's comments saying there ‘is not going to be public transport’ into Bristol from rural areas.
The North East Somerset MP urged people to stop making motorists' lives more difficult when questioned over whether increased civil servant jobs in the city would be supported by more public transport. He gave an exclusive interview to Bristol Live last week announcing 800 new jobs as part of the Government's ‘Places for Growth’ programme.
Speaking to Bristol Live, Mr Rees-Mogg said: "My general view is that I wish people would stop pillorying the motorist. My constituents in North East Somerset are almost all motorists and at every turn people seem to be trying to make their life harder and I feel strongly against that.
EXCLUSIVE: Jacob Rees-Mogg says 'stop pillorying motorists’ after announcing hundreds of new jobs
“If you’re living in a rural area there is not going to be public transport to get you into Bristol. I represent a rural area that is relatively sparsely populated and people need their cars.”
Co-leader of the Green Party and Bristol city councillor Carla Denyer has pushed for public transport to be properly funded during her time in local government. She highlights how the effects of cuts to services have led to a decline in routes available to people in rural areas.
In response to the MP's comments on public transport, Cllr Denyer said: "If the Conservative government was serious about improving peoples' lives and tackling climate change then it would make improving public transport in rural and urban areas a priority.
“Frustratingly, public transport is simply not up to standard in many areas of the South West, and the reason for this is partly Conservative policies. Since bus services were taken out of the hands of local authorities, and financial support reduced, we have seen a dramatic reduction in the number of routes available to people. Successive governments have failed to address this problem.
"The Green Party would make travelling by public transport cheaper than travelling by car. We also want to see all local authorities given back control over bus services, as London currently has, and support given to councils to restore lost bus routes and open new ones.
"Where Greens are already in administration in places like rural Herefordshire we're making improvements to local bus services including making them free for everyone at weekends."
North East Somerset is one of the many areas affected by ongoing timetable changes, with some bus services seeing a reduction in frequency. Councillor Emma Edwards agreed there was a lack of public transport provision for rural areas around Bristol, meaning lots of people have no choice but to travel by car.
Cllr Edwards said: “It’s true that many people who live rurally and commute to Bristol are cut off from decent public transport to our city and currently many feel they have no option but to drive.
"But this isn’t a long-term solution – more cars just means an endless cycle of more traffic and more air pollution, at a time when we need to be drastically cutting emissions. So we have to massively improve public transport from rural areas, and make it easier for people to walk and cycle.
"Everyone in the UK, including Rees-Mogg’s own constituents, have been let down by his government’s failure to properly support public transport. That has to change. We cannot expect people to change their behaviours around driving unless we offer them better, cheaper and safer alternatives.
"Bristol and its outlying rural areas need and deserve decent, affordable public transport as soon as possible.”
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