Talk about a totalitarian mind!
mate you are bonkers with that education manifesto that sounds like it would be right at home in North Korea !

My post isn't to debate whether or not they "work" insofar as saving lives, but about how to neutralise them as an issue politically.

But how can any issue be "neutralised politically" unless you address the nub of the problem?
The nib of the problem is that the public are repeatedly told 'they are not about revenue raising they are about road safety" which is just dishonest especially when the experience in The UK where they have taken cameras out of service have shown that instead of road accidents increasing they have actually declined.
Politically there has to be a point when all governments can't keep telling lies about this and when it becomes better to be honest and tell the public "yes we are using the cameras to raise money" and live with the consequences of being honest rather than the disingenuous platitudes that the public will just not buy any more.

You are right about one thing and that is the need to make speed cameras both visible and well signed. But I think that you are mistaken to suggest that they "save lives" because the majority of people who receive infringement notices are in fact not that much over the limit and they re not in fact driving in an unsafe manner at all.
They are beloved by governments because of their potential to raise cash and I hate them because governments keep lying to the public that they are "all about road safety " when they set them up in way that maximise the revenue that they will raise rather than in a way that would actually modify the behaviour of motorists.

What a stupid argument you make here the facts of the mater are simply that no opposition releases teh details of particular policies until the real campaign for the election begins. Tony's dedication to exercise has nothing to do with it.