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Let’s go local!
The year 2011 is a Local Election year. Yippee!! Believe it or not, that isn’t my best irony, I am genuinely pleased because so many transportation issues that directly affect riders are governed at ‘local’ level, so it is local government policy that we need to influence. We can and I’m very glad to say we do, have a situation the length of the country where active MAG members contact their local councils throughout the year about various issues, but there’s nothing quite like an election to concentrate the mind of career politicians and those with no party affiliation who get involved in local politics with a desire to make a difference.
Since the turnout at local elections is usually lower than at General Elections, our impact as motorcycling voters has the potential to be greater. And this of course is why I’m excited. It is a shame that more people don’t take local elections seriously, because everything from social services and policing, to the state of the roads and the size of your council tax bill is directly affected by their outcome. For us as riders and MAG members, whether an authority advocates the use of non-slip manhole covers, gives bikes access to bus- lanes or provides good secure parking provision, will be as a result of how the election goes and how much lobbying YOU do locally. Some of the people standing for election will actually be MAG members who deserve our support and you can read Sean Buckley’s account on page 59 of just how easy it is to get directly involved in local politics. But if you just want to lobby and vote, read on for a few ‘How To’ pointers.
First off, what is a Local Authority and is yours one of those that will have an election on May 5th 2011?
There will be elections in 279 Local Authorities throughout England, but that isn’t all of them so check
www.ridersarevoters.org to see if your authority is going to the polls. I’m using the word authority as a catch-all, because some are now called County Councils, some Metropolitan Boroughs, some Unitary Authorities and it can all be a bit confusing. In some places, every elected seat will be up for grabs, in others it will be only a third of seats. No Local Authorities (LA) will be having elections in Scotland or
Wales, but there will be Parliament and Assembly Elections on May 5th instead, so those of you who live up North or out West will have to concentrate on those instead. Lobbying principals remain the same though, so read on.
Northern Ireland is a special case and it’s not the first time I’ve heard
If someone has ever said “They donʼt listen”, ask who it was they spoke to, because Iʼve never had a politician ignore me, but I do find that they arenʼt great at telepathy.
that. There will be elections to the NI Assembly on May 5th, but as I write, it hasn’t been decided whether or not elections for the 26 LAs will be held on the same day or not. This is because David Cameron’s Voting Reform Referendum will be happening everywhere on the same day and it’s thought that voting three times may all be a bit much. There is a possibility that Local Elections in NI will be brought forward to March, but those of you who are on the Electoral Register will be made aware .
So how do you get your voice heard over the next few months? I recommend a mixture of old and new ideas:
Riders Are Voters saw riders and bike dealers co-operating to take motorcycle issues into the political forum, now we’ll do it again
56 The ROAD
The RAV Question Time (QT) Events at last yearʼs General Election became very successful, with each one better than the last, as we discovered what worked well and what didn’t. All the information gathered has helped to create the How To Organise a RAV QT info pack. At local election these QTs will be an even better lobby tool, because the candidates looking for your votes and answering your questions, will be the ones directly responsible for implementing bike friendly policy in your town or county.
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