WHETHER or not the prime aim of the Tory promise to raise the speed limit on motorways to 80 mph and bring in a new 50 mph minimum is, as advanced, to ensure a faster, safer flow of traffic, it is obvious what William Hague is really driving at - the motorist vote.

For observe what other lures the Conservatives have for the hounded and fleeced drivers of Middle England to come back aboard their wagon.

Right-wing shadow transport minister John Redwood's proposals also include scrapping the virtually empty bus lane on the otherwise-jammed M4 between West London and Heathrow, promises to junk John Prescott's plans for workplace parking spaces to be taxed and scrapping the proposals for congestion charges that would make drivers pay extra to drive into heavy-traffic areas.

And, sensing a backlash against traffic-calming overkill - of the sort voters in Hyndburn displayed in the council elections last month - he also rapped councils for putting speed humps on many roads.

This departure is quite a U-turn for the Tories - as when they were in office they promoted "speed kills" road safety campaigns and introduced the "green" fuel escalator which put up petrol prices by five per cent more than inflation every year.

Now, however, they have tuned their antennae to the grumbles of the 80 per cent adults with driving licences that anti-car measures have gone too far.

Clearly, the government is nervous, too, about losing the support of middle-class motorists. They have also already seen their discontent reflected in the haulage industry's post-Budget protests over increased taxation and the rift between Downing Street and Mr Prescott's transport ministry widening over his plans to coerce motorists on to public transport.

And unless the Labour leadership gives more determined dabs on the brake pedal to ease up on the anti-car campaign, they may be easily overtaken by the Tories in the race for the motorists' vote.

For with drivers staring at paying £7 a gallon in five years' time and just £.3 billion of the £36 billion they pay in taxes allocated to roads which, forgetting their own neglect of them, the Conservatives claim are in the worst state for 20 years, the tolerance of many drivers is also reaching its limit.

After their election victory over the euro, the Tories now seem to have also outmanoeuvred Labour on the roads.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.