James Ward

Come and work with me at Adfree Cities!

This is a great role, combining creative campaigning with real-world policy development. Full details on our website.

How the UK’s dependency on cars slows down the economy Clogged up Britain

Population density of The Netherlands, transport policy of Texas.

This latest piece in @theconversation.com cuts straight to how car dependence is a burden on us all, and makes a clear case for dethroning "king car".

theconversation.com/how-the-uks-...

Another day another SUV ad from the BBC.

Gone Fishing is supposed to be a celebration of the countryside, does it really need an extended clip of a massive SUV fording a river for no reason? Save it for Top Gear!

‘Killer kerb’ that wrecks cars installed by pro-pedestrian council Furious motorists complain over 13-inch high construction introduced by Lib Dem-led local authority

Forget coffee. I'm starting my day drinking the salty tears of drivers in Salisbury who are shocked - SHOCKED! - to learn that the consequences of their bad driving are in fact theirs to pay for. #motonormativity

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08...

Campaigners call for Wimbledon to CANCEL Range Rover sponsorship deal Group says Wimbledon must stop shuttling tennis players in 'dangerous supersized' Range Rover SUVs and instead force the likes of Emma Raducanu to take the tube or a bus.

It’s astonishing Wimbledon insists on deploying large SUVs in our crowded capital despite excellent public transport and mounting evidence of the danger to children. Why can't guests use more normal sized cars and/or the tube like most Londoners? #carspreading

www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/a...

🚨 𝗨𝗥𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗧: On Mon 7 July, MPs will debate a ban on fossil fuel ads and sponsorship.

This is a pivotal moment for the UK to tackle Big Oil like it did Big Tobacco.

✉️ Ask your MP to show up. It takes just 2 mins.

👉 Use our email template tool: actionnetwork.org/letters/urge...

Sainsbury’s ad near Bath Abbey approved – why this sets a dangerous precedent - Adfree Cities Guest blog from Cllr Saskia Heijltjes, Bath and North East Somerset Council As a Green Party councillor, I am deeply concerned by the way in which permission wasgranted for a Sainsbury’s advertisement...

Ads on Bath Abbey??

adfreecities.org.uk/2025/02/sain...

Thank you for raising this Carla. Such an overlooked issue for too long!

It was a pleasure to write this guest blog for Parents 4 Future Scotland. Ending the SUV arms race and creating safer, fairer streets for us and our kids is a personal and professional fight for me as a parent.

Colchester parking spaces 'too narrow for modern vehicles' A city is widening spaces in two of its car parks to accommodate larger cars.

Colchester council spaffing £1 million to widen parking spaces makes very clear how massive SUVs are only possible thanks to public subsidies.

Those inside enjoy their heated seats whilst those outside pay for the parking spaces, air pollution, road danger...

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

UK defence spending to rise to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 with aid budget slashed to help fund move - UK politics live Keir Starmer says now is the time to deepen European security, as he announces move in the Commons

What Labour's "growth" really means:

pulling aid from foreign countries and bombing them instead.

www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

Councillors call for SUV owners to pay higher parking fees Norwich's SUV owners should be charged more for parking than their smaller counterparts, councillors have urged.

Fantastic to see Norwich council considering higher parking charges for SUVs.

Bigger, heavier SUVs are more dangerous, more polluting and more damaging to the road surface than smaller cars. It's only fair that they should pay more.

www.eveningnews24.co.uk/news/2490844...

'Violent' driver crushed man under SUV then tried to flee to Dubai, court told Trevelle Rowland allegedly used his Volkswagen Tiguan as a weapon to murder Fergany Mvuezolo before calling on his girlfriend to help him flee the country and evade arrest

A man who previously used his SUV as a weapon is now on trial for using his SUV to murder someone.

Hard to see this story playing out with a Fiat Punto. SUVs are inherently violent machines and have no place on our streets.

www.essexlive.news/news/essex-n...

A series of SUVs dropping children off at a primary school in Dulwich.

This is drop off at a primary school in South East London.

At the same time, 75% of primary pupils and 90% of secondary pupils are travelling sustainably to London schools. Can they safely walk/cycle their journeys with cars this size driving past?

Check out: www.suv-alliance.org.uk

Image of a large SUV on top of a small car. Credit: Ashleigh Hambelton

Maybe a vehicle that can mount another vehicle should be subject to some kind of regulation before being driven in the millions on our streets?

www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/n...

Thanks for the book rec. I've often thought the same, that with the exception of drink and drug driving, road violence is effectively decriminalised.

For sure. I did mean specifically in the context of promoting a car.

Screenshot of a web article titled "this company will turn your new Toyota Land Cruiser into an off-road weapon".

Anyone describing a car as a "weapon" should have their licence immediately and permanently revoked.

SUV Alliance

Sounds unfair to me! And it is.

That's why, as part of our manifesto for safer and fairer streets, the SUV Alliance is calling for reform to first year vehicle excise duty (VED) so that heavier vehicles are charged more. Thus disincentivising the purchase of massive SUVs.

suv-alliance.org.uk

How the Netherlands eradicated the pothole Taxes on heavy cars ensure Dutch roads are among the smoothest in the world

The Netherlands has eradicated potholes. So why can't the UK do the same?

The answer lies in how our two countries tax new vehicles.

In NL, vehicles are taxed on their weight, so heavy SUVs pay more.

In UK massive SUVs pay no more tax than small hatchbacks.
www.telegraph.co.uk/money/nether...

Reeves backs Heathrow expansion saying third runway is 'badly needed' - live updates The chancellor says the airport is at

Slow clap for everyone who voted Labour in the last election thinking it would bring positive change.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cg...

Large, polluting, dangerous SUVs are taking over our streets. But there is an alternative…

The SUV Alliance are taking action with their 5-point manifesto for safer, fairer streets, without SUVs.

suv-alliance.org.uk

#SaferStreets
#FairerStreets #WithoutSUVs

Wimbledon school crash: Woman rearrested over deaths of two girls Nuria Sajjad and Selena Lau died at The Study Preparatory School in Wimbledon on 6 July 2023.

The driver in the Wimbledon school crash has been re-arrested 😮

To read this on the same day that we launch the SUV Alliance and manifesto reminds me of the importance of removing massive SUVs from our streets and the tragic consequences if we fail to act.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

@simonlightwood.org.uk
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The SUV Alliance campaigns for safer, fairer streets without SUVs. We want a future of public transport, active travel and small EVs - not big, heavy, dangerous, polluting SUVs.

Our 5-point manifesto is the start of a journey towards this future. Find out more at suv-alliance.org.uk

SUV Alliance Large Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and 4x4s are more polluting, more expensive and more dangerous to other road users, yet they are fast becoming the norm in the UK. Pushed by carmakers and their…

Large, polluting, dangerous SUVs are taking over our streets. But there is an alternative…

Today we launch the SUV Alliance and our 5-point manifesto for safer, fairer streets, without SUVs.

#SaferStreets #FairerStreets #WithoutSUVs

Screenshot of article headline "Advertisers need not fear a heightened political climate"

Well that's OK then.

I'm so proud of series 1 of Better Without Billboards, and equally excited for series 2 (coming to a podcast app near you soon!)

Listen now to conversations with the fantastic @carladenyer.bsky.social, @darrencullen.bsky.social, @playingout.bsky.social, @cllrbenparker.bsky.social and more....

Driving Denial: How Toyota’s Unholy Alliance with Climate Deniers Threatens Climate Progress - Public Citizen Toyota is no longer the green darling that it was nearly three decades ago when it introduced the Prius.

"Over the last three electoral cycles, Toyota has become the top auto industry financier of climate deniers. It has helped to finance campaigns of 207 climate-denying congressional candidates."

So much for being the auto industry's 'green leader' 😅

www.citizen.org/article/driv...