James and the Giant Potholes! Confelicity’s James Miller, talks about his transport plans as the “front-line” Mayor of Essex getting our “house in order first”

Blog Prologue!

The Mayor of Essex, along with their team known as the Mayoral Combined County Authority (MCCA) who are made up of Essex County Councillors (3) and Southend and Thurrock councillors (two each), and another seven non-constituent members and associate associate members, will be empowered by the government to oversee a multitude of areas including: transport and infrastructure, housing and planning, economic development and regeneration, skills and employment, health and well-being, and likely taking over powers of the Police, Crime, Fire and Rescue Commissioner.

The government has also deemed this team worthy of a 30-year ‘Investment Fund’. I am not entirely sure how much that amounts to, but it is there to drive economic growth and can be spent on day-to-day services.

To quote the government, “the framework is the floor, not the ceiling”. In other words, all being well and the Mayoral council behaves itself according to government approval, much more money, power and influence will be bestowed upon them.

However, before anyone gets the wrong end of the stick, Greater Essex (Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock) will be divided into three, four or five councils - depending on Local Government Reorganisation - and they will continue to have derestriction over council tax, budgets, parking, school, social care, etc, and the Mayor is not the boss over the councils.

I have already stated that I am dead against this revolution that seems to me to be a huge waste of money, increased bureaucracy, and services mainly to be a tool to do the government’s bidding. The last point is made clear by the government white paper constantly using the phrase “to fulfil the government’s missions”. For my full blog: https://www.southendconfelicityparty.co.uk/post/james-miller-will-be-standing-as-mayor-of-essex-for-the-confelicity-party-in-2026

And as if our taxes weren’t high enough, this new Mayoral council is entitled to demand a precept. I will not be doing this and I will also not be accepting the £150K salary. Leading by example starts at the top and for too long those at top table have taken far too much.

The Confelicity Party are standing on the platform of ‘local’, as we believe those who live in any particular area should have more money, power and influence to make decisions about the very places they step outside their doors every morning and can see first hand what needs to be changed. No national ties - just locally driven policies made for the residents by the residents. Although the Mayor cannot rule over the councils directly, I will be going to residents for their opinions on every vote that may be taken. We hold meetings every month so it should not slow anything down!

Do you remember when Theresa May kept on repeating ‘strong and stable’? And Boris ‘Get Brexit Done’? Well for us, our oft repeated, and maybe not so catchy line will be the fact that I am looking to be the ‘front-line’ Mayor of Essex where I will personally be involved in the areas that are most important to Essex residents, with the intention to get our house in order first before spending £millions on non-essential capital acquisitions.

In an ideal world I would love to give council rebates where money that has not been required is given back under the premise of stop wasting our money; and hold local referendums on the big issues residents have made clear they have serious problems with, but that is a discussion for another day.

Lastly, before I begin, an important point to note about the Confelicity Party is that all policies must be unanimously agreed for it to make the manifesto. However, each member is free to make their own decisions in debates where unanimous agreement could not be found and this applies to myself. In this sense, throughout the upcoming blogs, where I have said ‘Confelicity’, it means agreed party policy. Where I say ‘I’, it means this is my own opinion where a subject either has not yet been debated or the motion did not get unanimously agreed. Political apathy, we believe, has been driven in large part due to the lack of actual power and influence anyone has over policy-making. Therefore we wanted to bring true democracy back to politics rather than be just a talking shop where opinions disappear in the wind.  We took a bit of a chance designing the party like this, but it turns out that most people agree about most things most of the time. My Mayoralty would be driven by this system where the true feelings and thoughts of residents will directly impact the final decisions I make.

In the coming weeks I will be releasing blogs setting out what a Confelicity Mayor of Essex would do if elected and what policies we will enact within remit of the government, and now I will start with transport.

Introduction

The remit covers our roads, buses, trains and active travel. I begin with a deeper explanation of my ambition to become a ‘front-line Mayor’ using the example of how I might go about defeating the great issue of our day: the unanimously detested pot hole! I go on to speak about how I will rule out the appalling London road fines such as ULEZ, LEZ and congestion charging as well as resisting the ill-conceived Low Traffic Neighbourhoods that do nothing but cause traffic elsewhere; take a realistic view of the multi-million pound investments in cycle lanes by ending the forlorn ambition to get us out of our cars; retain cash as a method of payment for parking meters and public transport through as much influence a Mayor might have on local councils; restrict the 20mph policy according to the facts and residents’ needs; and resist taking over the bus and rail network at a cost of hundreds of millions of pounds.

Let’s begin: James and the Giant Potholes!

As trivial as it may sound, the issue of pot holes is near the top of resident’s wish lists when asked: what is most important to them? And in line with the principle of getting our ‘house in order’ as the front line Mayor, I would deem this to be as high as anything else.

So how would I do what most have never done before!?

My career as an Operations Director is multi-faceted, however one of my roles is strategic operations and I intend to use my substantial operational knowledge and experience to help address this dangerous blot on our landscape.

Analysing strategic decisions that have been taken on the ground level is the only way to know if the strategy works and what needs to be tinkered with. Officers working from home have not helped one bit, and that is something I intend to change (I believe everyone must live in the area to make decisions about the area and come into the office!). However, more than anything else, the most accountable person needs to be in the room when the key decisions are made.

My day job is looking at every process from A to Z and continually modifying them so they are the most efficient at any given time. I identify and investigate the major causes of a problem and find the leverage - that one element within the process that blocks the whole process from functioning at its best.

For those well versed in this exciting world of operational management, this is the bread and butter of the job. Why I am bringing this up? you may ask. I do so to indicate the type of Mayor I intend to be.

These kind of mind-numbing to most skills are the ones that can unlock real life problems and change lives, and I believe a hands-on approach is what is needed.

For instance, how is it that pot holes exist with all the technology in the world today? (Incidentally, I only recently read a solution has been found - not sure how true it is just yet!)

I am not saying we should go back to it, but we know already that our predecessors had long ago discovered advanced technology such as the cobbled road that has endured incredibly well in comparison!

In cliched management speak, I intend to “helicopter” into the areas that I would feel need first-hand eyeballs on. I want to be in the meetings with the professionals to discuss the material of the tarmac. What are the options? How much of what chemical is going into it? What difference would it make with different chemical variations? What is the very best material to ensure the roads will stay pot hole free for the longest period? What is the cost analysis between constantly repairing roads versus paying more now to save later? Who are the suppliers? How do they differ? Is this known in the tender process? How much gravitas is this given in the final decision? How, exactly, were the tenders won before, and why? And so on.

There would be another thousand questions before I, and the team around me, would start to hone in on any meaningful conclusions, but being that residents see pot holes as such an important issue, then it would be right to land right in the middle of this - as much as a Mayor legally can.

I would ask all those working in the government departments who oversee these contracts and industry experts. Very often most people already know the answer, however, they are either not in a position to do anything about it and/or care. If the identified problem was reported, sometimes the reported-to takes it to nowhere. In cases where it does move further up the chain it can stop at anyone’s desk because everyone has their own day-to-day priorities. This is exactly why it is vital the person at the top is in the room i.e the Mayor.

Residents across Essex want their tyres to remain in tact while making their journeys, and we know by the need to constantly swerve around the pot hole that whatever is in place is not quite right.

No amount of political rhetoric will fix that, and so my pledge is simply that I will devote enough of my time personally to get to the root cause of the problem and find the solution with those professionals who already know the answer.

Boring - oh yes! What slogan could possibly sum this up on a leaflet? “I will attend pot hole meetings”. “I will be the helicopter Mayor”!

But do we want solutions or slogans? Hmm, maybe that will be my slogan!

Moving on to everything else…the Local Transport Plan

The remaining part of this blog will focus on the other areas of transport a Major of Essex would have control over, which covers the road network, road fines, 20mph speed limits, buses, trains, cycling, parking meters and rail.

Broadly speaking, I am against spending money where it does not have to be spent. Ideally, if budgets are beaten, I would plan to give residents rebates rather than have that money spent frantically at the end of the year to ensure that department receives the same budget thereafter.

The overall vision I see for transport is to maintain what we have to the highest standards, keeping everyone safe.

I will not spend any money on a forlorn attempt to herd people into public transport or active travel by wasting £billions, which is what has happened in London.

Roads

Road fines: ULEZ, LEZ, Congestion charges, speed cameras, tolls, LTNs, bus gates

Aside from average speed cameras, I will never implement all of the above. Drivers are taxed far more than enough to keep their cars on the road and Essex will not suffer the pain of London.

From personal experience, driving through London feels like the booby traps in the Indianna Jones films. It is a thoroughly unenjoyable and stressful experience and try as you might, often a letter still comes through the door informing you of your misdemeanour!

Life should not be like this and they serve to penalise people on low incomes disproportionately. The London Mayor should know better as a socialist.

I feel very sorry for those who live on the Essex borders and every Londoner who has had to suffer the deep reach into their pockets as they go about their day.

We all want to breathe clean air, but we must stop punishing the public who have no power as to what goes on our shelves and target the root causers of the problem. Whilst I do not condone illegal activity, the Blade Runners’ response seems inevitable given the corner they find themselves in.

Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs)

Confelicity will never bring in any road fine scheme that divides Essex into sections and limits people to how many times they can drive through any given area. This was mooted in Southend a few years and one of our councillors was quoted as saying it was an “interesting idea”. Absolutely not, and anything resembling the 15 minute City would not exist on my watch.

I will never implement Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, another fine-ridden scheme that makes driving even harder and merely re-directs traffic elsewhere.

Bus Gates and Buses

I will never build “bus gates”, which is a section of road designated for buses only and where drivers who dare to stray into those lanes will be - you guessed it - fined.

One such bus gate will be appearing in Southend and it is just another money-making scheme. These bus gates are already active in Basildon, Chelmsford, Colchester, Clacton and Harlow to name but a few, and it would be my intention to get them gone.

Even if the bus was free, people will still use the car because it is too convenient. There is a failure to understand human nature when the people in power think we will move from the car to public transport if it is made easier and cheaper. All these policies do is make life impossible for everyone including lower income families.

Ireally, the MCCA should control bus routes, fares, timetables, etc, to make it easier for commuters, and allow bus companies to bid for different routes. However, Essex does not operate like that currently and it would be far too costly (in Greater Manchester it cost in the region of £135 million) to do this. This is otherwise known as franchising, and I would simply be in favour of the current system whereby certain uncommercial, but necessary routes are subsidised. Let’s put that money - if indeed it would still be available - into fixing the pot holes!

Green belt

Confelicity does not believe in destroying green belt land and would be against any schemes that would green light this. However, as contradictory as it is, I, myself, do accept that a level of pragmatism is required and would not block any previously agreed plans to widen roads if contracts have been signed. I speak extensively about Confelicity’s green belt policies in the blog covering the Environment.

Lighting

Street/road lighting must be turned back on. I am shocked that Essex County Council feels turning lights off at night would not lead to more accidents. A quick search would appear to support keeping them off as apparently there have been zero accidents in this time. From my own experience, there is no doubt driving is made much more difficult with no lighting and I would never have agreed to this had it been a proposal on my desk. Turning the lights back on is what I class as getting our house in order!

Cash

Confelicity does not believe in a cashless society and will ensure cash is retained as a method of payment on all modes of transport.

20mph speed limits

Only if an unanimous decision is made by every resident who lives on that road would Confelicity consider a 20mph speed limit.

London is at a near standstill and it has been reported that it has had a detrimental effect on the environment.

Drivers are already well incentivised to drive safely with the consequences of fines; damaging their own vehicles and the inconvenience to sort it out; and in the worst case, face jail or death. An irresponsible driver will be untrustworthy with any speed limit and as there are no blanket cameras covering every road, they will continue to be dangerous - not that I am calling for such camera coverage. (Big Brother is the very opposite of the society I wish to see).

Always the minuscule minority cause everyone else to suffer. We cannot eradicate all risk, and unless we ban driving altogether risk will always remain.

If we want to talk about risk we must talk about cycling on the roads.

Cycling

The following may give the impression I am anti-cycling, but this would not be true. Although I do not go out as often as I would like, I love cycling. It does not damage the knees and you can travel much further and faster than you think.

If we could start our road network from scratch I would have an entirely separate cycle network that is well out the way of cars and pedestrians. However, we do not have that kind of money and it is physically impossible.

We cannot fight against the convenience of the motor car despite eye-watering sums of money trying. The London Mayor has spent somewhere in the region of £1 billion on cycling over the last ten years, but the hard truth is that there has not been environmental game-changing uptake to justify that level of investment. I do not intend to make the same costly mistake and I will not spend a penny trying to convince people otherwise.

Since the drive to get people onto bicycles there has inevitably been an increase in KSIs (killed or seriously injured). It is dangerous to cycle on the road, and were a risk assessment to be carried out it would never pass. The truth is an accident is very likely and the consequences could be severe.

The only time I ever feel safe cycling is on the pavement or when there are nearly no cars on the road. Cycle lanes do nothing for me to feel any safer.

I cannot believe anyone can simply rent out a Boris Bike in London and get on the road without any qualifications. When I see the amateur cyclists - especially tourists - in London, it is no surprise to me that there are so many accidents - over 1000 deaths in 2024 alone. It is ludicrous that it is not law for cyclists to pass a road test just the same as drivers. They do not even have to take the cycling proficiency test as it is voluntary. Incidentally, this scheme has cost London £195 million over an eight period.

At a practical level, it may have escaped some people’s attention, but Britain is cold, windy and rainy for almost 9 months of the year, and no matter how many smoothly laid out and luxurious a cycle lane, the overwhelming vast majority of people will never use them.

The point here is that while cycling is a good hobby, it will never be a realistic substitute as a mode of transport. The £1 billion the Mayor of London will not be repeated in Essex.

None of this is to say I would not improve cycling infrastructure to make it safe and attractive, but money needs to be directed to other areas first such as health, homelessness, social housing, policing and pot holes!

Pavements

Walking is undeniably great, but our pavements are constantly ripped to pieces and left in an unacceptable state by various companies. It is wrong those who are permitted to dig for their profits are given such give as to the quality of the pavements after the work has been carried out. This must stop and I will look to bring about new policies that will ensure pavements are left in a safe and presentable state.

Parking meters

I had a situation where I was going into the high street to get a new bank card. I parked up by Warrior Square near Southend High Street and dutifully tried to pay for parking. After trying to figure out the overly complicated system it asked to pay by card. I then realised it did not accept cash and so I was stuck. To pay for the parking I needed to go to the bank to get the card!

I would say this is a very rare circumstance, but I feel sure there are plenty of others who can talk about reasons they need to pay by cash.

Although the Mayor will not have direct control over the councils, Confelicity will return all parking meters to cash and card if elected and I would support that.

I would try to influence the reduction of parking charges across the whole of Essex to promote local businesses.

Rail

“The Mayor would have a statutory role in governing, managing, planning, and developing the rail network, and will be given the option of greater control so they can capitalise on the opportunities in and around rail stations for local people, for economic growth, accessibility, and intermodal connectivity.”

Same as the buses, due to the cost which would likely hit over £100m, I would not implement franchising rail.

I hardly see a problem with the way it is being run from a user perspective. C2c and Greater Anglia have been superb and their recent nationalisation made no sense aside from political ideology.

Confelicity would continue to oppose ticket office closures at train stations.

As mentioned, we would maintain cash as a means of payment alongside card. However, I would support pay-as-you-go rail that allow passengers to tap in and out of stations using a contactless card or device.

Local Lane Rental Schemes

There is an opportunity for the Mayor, via Local Lane Rental Schemes, to approve charging companies that want to perform works during certain times of the day or run over time. I can see how this could be useful in reducing congestion and I would seek to utilise this model where appropriate. I do wonder how these extra costs will end up with the end-user, so much will depend on the detail of this.

Conclusion

Without knowing the full remit of the Mayor as it has not been confirmed, it is a touch difficult to definitively say what can be done on every subject. However, I hope you will see enough of the underlying thinking of what we would like to achieve: spend on the essentials; save hundreds of millions by cancelling or postponing non-essential spending.

The next blog will discuss our housing policy, which discusses homelessness, social housing and the greenbelt.