MOTORCYCLE ORGANISATIONS UNITE TO SAY ‘RIDERS ARE VOTERS’
November 25 2009.
The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG), the British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) and the Motor Cycle Industry Association (MCIA) have joined forces to launch a campaign to encourage motorcyclists to vote in the forthcoming General Election.
2010 will be a year where there will be big changes in parliament and the three organisations feel that this could be the best chance in decades to really influence political opinion about motorcycle issues among Parliamentary Candidates.
The main ‘Riders Are Voters’ campaign will kick off in the new year and as part of this, motorcycle riders and businesses in the motorcycle industry will be encouraged to contact local Parliamentary Candidates to ask for support for a motorcycling manifesto; ‘Britain Needs Biking’.
However, MAG, BMF and MCIA want to know what riders and business leaders think are the key issues that the campaign should focus upon. Does biking Britain need better roads? More parking? Better Government policy? More incentives for people to ride? Better policing? Or something else? Riders Are Voters wants to know what people really feel should be the key biking issues that should feature in the General Election.
MAG and the BMF will be featuring Riders Are Voters on their stands at the Carole Nash International Motorcycle and Scooter show which starts at the NEC this Friday November 27th and runs though to Sunday December 6th. People are urged to visit these stands and let the campaign know their views via the Riders Are Voters ‘ballot box’.
MAG’s Nich Brown said: “More than a million motorcycle and scooter riders are voters, so are their friends and families. By working together Riders Are Voters will show the biking constituency is big enough to make a difference at elections. Government still has a long way to go to deliver on its promise to put biking at the heart of transport thinking; we’ve made progress but the message still has to get through to some parts of local and national government.”
BMF’s Chris Hodder said: “The one thing we have learnt about riders is that motorcycling is right at the top of their personal agendas. The big changes expected at the next election mean that now could be the best time in decades to let those who want our votes know where we really stand.”
MCI’s Sheila Rainger added: "The industry is delighted to support this campaign. It’s clear that despite the limited actions taken in the last ten years and the occasional warm words from Ministers, the motorcycle community expects much, much more. Motorcycles don’t create traffic congestion and are the lowest polluting form of private powered transport for a given journey.
Therefore it makes absolutely no sense that the Government does not support motorcycling in its overall transport strategy."