Electioneering?
What can the politicos do for motorcyclists?
John Newman
Look, I know you've had a bellyful of the longest election campaign in UK parliamentary history (probably), and you've switched off from all those statistics and figures being tossed around like so much meaningless confetti. But this information is about a flurry of political cooperation on behalf of motorcycling by three national organisations who don't always work together: Motorcycle Action Group (MAG), Britsh Motorcyclists Federation (BMF), and Motorcycle Industry Association (MCIA).
They have put together a concise document that has been emailed to all 4,000 candidates (650 will be elected) who are hoping to be heading for Westminster after May 7th; once the correct constitutional arrangements and alliances have been negotiated and haggled over.
The document poses six key questions, and then invites parliamentary candidates to register their interest in holding a meeting with motorcyclists at constituency level. It has to be said that they are 'bending the stick' with their own statistics when they quote 3 million full licence holders and an average of 4,000 per constituency as target voters candidates may want to consider.
The standard figure quoted for active riders in the UK is 1 million. The other 2 million may be full licence holders, but it's doubtful that they could be conceived as potential lobbyists on behalf of motorcycling.
Nonetheless the areas raised are very relevant, and they seek to give a higher profile for PTW's (Powered Two Wheelers) in future transport policy considerations, following on from the recent announcement that electric bikes and scooters will also benefit from an environmental subsidy in the same way as cars.
Two wheels good
The other areas brought to candidates' attention are the jobs and growth potential of a thriving powered two wheeler market; putting motorcycle safety on the same level as cycling – a lively growth area – and making other road users more aware of motorcycle vulnerability alongside pedestrians and cyclists; social inclusion in terms of boosting schemes such as
Wheels2Work that assist people in rural areas obtain small motorcycles for work journeys; and the vexed question of ever increasing traffic congestion, where powered two wheelers could make a significant contribution towards easing this.
A good initiative this, so top marks to the three organisations, whose logos appear at the head of the document, in getting this onto the agenda.
You can download the document as a pdf from the MAG website
www.mag-uk.org
I couldn't locate it on the bmf website, but that doesn't mean to say it isn't there
www.bmf.co.uk
If you're interested in a more comprehensive document 'Realising the Motorcycling Opportunity' published by MCIA and the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) go to
www.mcia.co.uk/Campaigns/Realising-the-Motorcycling-Opportunity.aspx
Any thoughts? Email us at
[email protected]
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