OPINION


It’s probably fair to say that engaging politicians in 2025 could best be described as either confusing or uncertain. So much has changed so quickly, and it’s still changing! As a charity, we are politically neutral, engaging with elected politicians, whatever their party colours. However, something we can do is consider how our messages might land with different politicians – in other words, how we frame them. We’ve put a significant amount of time into this over the past year and will develop further in 2026, hopefully with industry engagement. As a sector, we need to frame our messages around the benefits of cycling in a way that resonates with the public and politicians. That way, the industry can sell more bikes, so do reach out if you’re interested in getting involved with this work!


I want to end on a 2025 feel-good highlight, and hopefully


I’ve saved the best till last: our women’s safety campaign, ‘My ride. Our right’. We launched the campaign in March to try to get politicians to take the gender gap in cycling seriously – and, just as importantly, do something about it. It’s been a talking point for years that twice as many men cycle than women. Yet we’ve not seen any action by politicians


www.bikebiz.com


‘I’VE SAVED THE BEST TILL LAST:


OUR WOMEN’S SAFETY CAMPAIGN, ‘MY RIDE. OUR RIGHT’. WE LAUNCHED THE CAMPAIGN IN MARCH


TO TRY TO GET POLITICIANS TO TAKE THE GENDER GAP IN CYCLING SERIOUSLY – AND, JUST AS IMPORTANTLY, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. ’


to change that by making cycling actually safer and feel safer. Of course, if we make the roads safer for women, we’ll make them safer for everyone. All four national governments and local authorities need to ask themselves what they’re going to do to make this happen. The Department for Transport has just published its draft Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS3), but sadly, it’s lacking in targets. That’s why we’ve


responded, calling for clear targets and a plan to address the gender gap. Without this pressure,


we’d continue to hear the usual nonsense about women not wanting to


cycle, the weather, and indeed anything to bat off


the need for investment in cycle lanes and safer roads. ‘My ride. Our right’ will continue this year, and we hope


to reprise our glow rides to support it. In October, we had 3,000 people come out, some in torrential rain, to take part in 67 rides across the UK in support. Who’d have thought it? It seems that if you give people who like cycling a campaign to ride a bike for, they’ll come out in droves… we hope that as many of you get involved again this year. Campaigning often has more lows than highs. However,


if you ask me, looking back on last year, we’ve had plenty of highs that we can feel cheerful about, and start the new year with a sense of optimism. 


January 2026 | 23


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