OPINION
What the 2025 Party Conferences told us about Cycling’s Political Future
By Eleanor Goldberg Mitchell, Tomos Owens,
S
tability is certainly not the first word that comes to mind when describing UK politics at the moment. A summer of local
elections, party defections, reshuffles and rethinks has set a somewhat shaky stage for the 2025 party conference season. For both charities and businesses,
conferences offer an annual (or bi-annual in some cases) inside look into party political feelings, fortunes, and forecasts. As for voters, conferences give people a glimpse into the thinking of a party- a hint as to their future. This autumn, the Policy and Public Affairs Team at Cycling UK have been bouncing around Britain, taking the temperature of the various parties in what feels like a particularly frenetic time for politics. It was an opportunity to see how far, if at all,
cycling and walking have moved up the political programme. We were pleased to see cycling explicitly mentioned at some conferences, but disappointed that others were distinctly lacking active travel discussion. The main thing to remember is that party conferences are not the start and end of any party policies. Nothing is set in stone, and we’re eager to continue our engagement across the board, strengthening the cross-party support that already exists in Westminster and the devolved parliaments to push cycling and walking up the agenda.
Labour: Active travel in the mainstream debate For the third year in a row, the Labour Party Conference took place in Liverpool. After the Prime Minister’s turbulent summer, it felt like an important opportunity for the party in power to regroup and look ahead. Happily, active travel was visible both inside and outside the main halls.
48 | November 2025
We ran a joint cycle and walk around the historic Albert Dock, co-hosted with Living Streets and Labour Cycles and Walks, which drew a strong turnout. We were pleased to hear from one of Parliament’s biggest supporters of
healthy, active lifestyles, Kim Leadbeater MP, along with Liverpool City Region’s Active Travel Commissioner, Simon O’Brien. We were also delighted to host several important active travel champions from local government, including York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith. Beyond our dockside bike ride, newly appointed Local Transport Minister Lilian Greenwood spoke at an IPPR fringe panel on transport and growth. Minister Greenwood, who now holds the active travel
brief, emphasised the need for people to have genuine choice over how they travel. During the Q&A, we raised our My ride. Our right campaign with her, which focuses on women’s safety while cycling. The Minister’s comments suggested that road safety and enforcement remain priorities for the government, and we are very keen to continue the close relationship with her that we were pleased to have with the outgoing active travel minister, Simon Lightwood MP. The Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi
Alexander, set an extremely positive outlook in her speech, mirroring much of what she said at
Cycling UK’s parliamentary reception earlier this year. She leaned heavily on the language of ‘real transport choice’ and the speech conveyed the urgency we think this agenda deserves. We welcomed her emphasis on “solving real-world problems” and for stating the obvious (but often forgotten) fact that most of us use multiple modes of travel, and any cynical attempt to set one mode against another is the wrong
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