Motorcycle Organisations Unite to
Say 'Riders are Voters'
25th November 2009
The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG), the
British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) and the Motor
Cycle Industry Association (MCI) 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 MCI 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, CX10 Hall 2 (MAG) and 1D72 Hall 1
(BMF) 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."
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