Reform Senedd candidate mocked for blasting 20mph speed limit while standing on a 50mph road
Emily Price
A Reform UK Senedd election candidate has been mocked after blasting Wales’ 20mph “blanket” speed limit while filming a campaign video on a road with a 50mph limit.
Catherine Cullen – Reform’s second place candidate in Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni – disabled commenting on the video she posted to Facebook on Sunday (April 26) after facing ridicule from social media users.
In the clip, Cullen is seen wearing a blue jumper with bright heart shaped buttons walking alongside a road as she asked voters if they were “fed up” with seeing 20mph signs “all over Wales”.
However, in the footage a 50mph speed limit sign can be seen over the Senedd election hopeful’s shoulder.
Social media users flooded the comment section, questioning whether the video had been posted by a parody account or an actual Welsh election candidate.
Cari Tronic asked: “Is this a parody? This is satire, right?”
Danny Crudge wrote: “This is satire, right? Incorrectly spouting that Wales has a ‘blanket’ 20mph limit whilst standing in front of a 50mph sign?
“Instantly debunking their own claims in real-time? Slapstick comedy at its best.”
Morgan Gibbs wrote: “You are literally standing on a 50mph road 😂😂😂.”
Matthew Orton added: “Oh shit! This was real!?! I thought was something from Bo’ Selecta!”
Gail Lewis wrote: “Whilst standing in front of a 50mph sign!”
Sam Davies wrote: “Lol what the hell have I just had the misfortune to watch?? It’s genuinely like a sketch.”
Mark Whalley commented: “Bit silly talking about 20mph speed limits while standing in front of a 50mph one 🤣 slower speeds save lives!”
John Cook added: “The irony she has a 50 sign behind her. Perhaps they couldn’t find a 20…”
The next day, Cullen posted a comment to the video saying the responses had given her a “good laugh”.
She wrote: “Well I have to say everyone I did have a good laugh at these while having a cuppa and studying for my doctorate. Vote reform on May 7th.”
Cullen then disabled commenting on the post, preventing any new interactions from the public.
Alun Davies, Welsh Labour’s lead candidate in Blaenau Gwent Caerffili Rhymni said: “It’s typical of Reform. All mouth and no basic understanding or knowledge.
“If they can’t look at a road sign that’s sitting directly behind them then I wouldn’t trust them with anything more different!”
Petition
The Welsh Government’s 20mph policy sparked fierce controversy following its rollout in 2023, with a 460,000-signature petition calling for it to be reversed becoming the most signed in Senedd history.
But data from the first year of implementation showed that 100 fewer people were killed or seriously injured on 20mph and 30mph roads across Wales.
Welsh ministers hailed the scheme as the most successful road safety intervention in modern times.
Reform UK has made it a central pledge to scrap the default 20mph speed limit if they win the upcoming Senedd election on May 7 with Welsh leader Dan Thomas labelling the policy “stupid”.
The party says it would axe what it calls the scheme’s “blanket” approach, while retaining 20mph speed limits in higher-risk areas such as near schools and hospitals.
The Welsh Government has argued that the 20mph default is not a “blanket” policy because it allows for exceptions where local authorities decide certain roads should remain at 30mph.
‘Imprecise’
Senedd Members were previously warned not to use the word “blanket” when referring to the default 20mph speed limit in the Welsh Parliament’s Chamber.
It came after the Senedd’s standards watchdog Douglas Bain investigated a complaint against Welsh Conservative Andrew RT Davies over posts to his social media accounts branding the policy a “blanket” restriction.
Bain concluded that this description was “imprecise and inaccurate” and Llywydd Elin Jones later warned Members that she would intervene if the term was used in the Chamber.
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“People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.” A little Kierkegaard for your Monday evening.
Thanks to NC for printing the comments and to those who left them. There was a glimmer of hope that this person who seemed devoid of the normal necessary human traits of the notions of shame, humiliation and embarassment harboured them in there somewhere shown by the disabling of further comments but it was shattered before that with a desperare show of bravado in trying to skew who is really having the laugh. I cannot match up ‘studying for my doctorate’ with this level of total muppetry.
It’s probably something to do with the “every road is 20mph” nonsense that still gets pushed around online, and people just not bothering to confirm what the policy actually was.
Of course, as was stated in the original policy, which people chose to ignore, some roads will be changing moving forward, with some increasing the speed limit but with other communities pushing their councils to change to 20mph on some roads due to the reduction in accidents and deaths on other roads since dropping the speeds.
To be fair, when I was 4 I used to mix up my 2’s and 5’s as well.
……. and these are people who want to lead the country?
What can be certain is that the only thing that’s slow is not the 20 mph default speed limit, but Reform’s Catherine Cullen. She’s as dim as a 2-watt lightbulb.