Brexiteer MP moans about traffic jams in Dover... again

A Tory MP has complained about the traffic jams in her Dover constituency...again.

People have raised their eyebrows after Natalie Elphicke called for the government to fix the issue, without appearing to acknowledge Brexit's supposed role in creating it.

She said in parliament: "Dover is becoming as famous for its traffic queues as for its white cliffs. It is time that the road blocks were cleared. It matters for national growth as well as local growth. Geographically, we are the closest point to continental Europe, and 60 per cent of our trade with Europe transits the short straits route.

"Contrary to what the doomsters and gloomsters said, when Brexit transition finally came, the sky did not fall in, the seas did not rise and there were not hundreds of miles of tailbacks to the midlands and beyond. But there are days when the traffic grinds to a halt—there were before we left the European Union and there are now—because of weather, strikes and many other reasons. This is part and parcel of having a major transport hub in a constituency—be that a port or an airport.

"We need proper investment and I renew my request for urgent planned strategic investment to keep Dover clear and to make the most of Britain’s opportunity to trade with the world.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Elphicke has complained about traffic jams in her constituency before, which are in part a result of post Brexit checks at the border which came into force last year.

She claimed in parliament in February that the increasing jams were all the EU's fault.

"Dover is once again beset by miles of traffic jams along the motorways affecting residents and local businesses alike, not because of Brexit, but because of Brussels bureaucracy and red tape," she said.

This is in contrary to the Road Haulage Association, which released a statement saying that post-Brexit border checks "meanfriction where none existed" while the public spending watchdog also found that there have been more border delays since Britain’s withdrawal from the EU.

But Elphicke told indy100 at the time: “As the most popular route to the continent, Dover has had traffic queues long before the EU referendum. In 2016, there were three days of tailbacks to Dover with 250,000 people caught up in the gridlock.

“In 2015 a ‘temporary’ new system, the Dover TAP, was brought in. It has been activated hundreds of times, before and after Britain left the EU. The highest TAP year was 2017 - which was before Brexit.

“As a major port area, we trade with France and the rest of the EU successfully every day. We just need to make sure that Brussels Bureaucrats don’t undermine that with their unnecessary red tape, and that we invest in the Dover road network too.”

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.