In the course of the last two General Election campaigns MAG has brought about a fundamental change in the attitude of British politicians towards motorcyclists.

Cast your minds back to the way in which we were treated before the 1992 election. Put simply, we were treated like kids. The politicians had the attitude that THEY knew best and so had the right to force down our throats the medicine of THEIR choosing.

1992 Changed all that. In 1992 MAG launched Operation Twistgrip, subtitled 'The Power in YOUR Hands'. We thought that was appropriate for a bikers campaign. Plenty of YOU obviously agreed with US. In your thousands you told the candidates what YOU wanted to see in their manifestos. The politicians were forced to address MOTORCYCLISTS as a significant part of the electorate. For the first time in history - in WORLD history - the major political parties of a Western European democracy all felt obliged to address a part of their manifestos specifically towards the concerns of motorcyclists.

You must never, ever, underestimate your achievement. Experienced political commentators were astounded. Hacks who thought that they had seen everything were suddenly confronted by something new - bikers as a political force. Bikers making valid and reasoned arguments that any reasonable person could see the justice of. Bikers successfully influencing the political process.

For years people said that bikers were the most apathetic of people. They said that bikers were totally uninterested in politics. Nobody believed that more than the political parties themselves. The tragedy was that largely, they were right!

MAG changed all that. You changed all that. By involving yourselves in the political process you made the politicians sit up and take notice. You did it in 1992 and in 1997 you did it again with MAG's Bikers are Voters' campaign.

Thanks to your efforts we have won back some of the ground that we lost in the dark years of the early 1980's when some of the worst anti-biker legislation was passed. We have succeeded in repealing the automatic one-year ban. We have stopped the Eurocrats in their tracks. We have repulsed the worst proposals of the European Commission Multi-Directive. Anti-tampering, type approval and power limits have all been beaten for the time being.

But this does not mean that we can rest.

Bikers now face a number of threats. MAG will face up to them all. But to do so effectively MAG needs your help. In 2001 or, at the latest, 2002, the UK is due to have another General Election. A new crop of politicians will take their seats and these, like their predecessors, need to be convinced of the justice of our arguments.

We do not know when THEIR election campaign will start. That is up to Tony Blair. But we do know when OUR campaign will start. That is up to us. And it starts NOW!

WE DEMAND:

1. No more fuel tax increases

   Petrol is now approaching £4 a gallon. Every £10 fill-up costs you £8.60 in tax. MAG demands an immediate freeze in fuel duty.

2. No compulsory leg protectors

   The politicians are still wasting public money on so-called 'leg protector' research. Bikers have consistently rejected this dangerous and unwanted technology. MAG demands an end to this waste.

3. No compulsory regular re-testing for innocent road users

   MAG utterly oppose the proposals mooted by some Eurocrats to force innocent bikers to re-take their tests every five or ten years.

4. No remote controls

   MAG utterly opposes the fitting of any device which removes any aspect of motorcycle control from the rider to remote operation.

5. No road tolls or congestion charging

   MAG opposes any and all methods of extracting yet more cash from road users. MAG calls for improvements in public transport and restriction of inner city long-stay car parking to reduce congestion.

6. No backdoor taxation by speed camera

   Speed limits are fair enough but entrapment is not on. Local councils and police forces must not be allowed use speed cameras to raise additional revenue.

7. Realistic speed limits

   Artificially low speed limits put points on your licence and take cash from your pocket. MAG supports realistic limits.

8. Jail sentences for all bike thieves

   MAG demands a minimum one-year custodial sentence for all bike thieves and longer sentences for repeat offenders and organised gangs.

9. Biker-friendly cities - more bike parking, secure bike parking and access to bus lanes

   Bikes are a part of the answer to congestion. MAG demands more secure bike parking. Experiments have shown that bikes can use bus lanes without creating any problems.

10. An end to ALL anti-bike legislation!

    For 30 years the politicians have targeted bikers with stupid legislation. We want them off our backs. They should concern themselves with the big picture, like raising standards in the NHS and schools, and giving the old folk decent pensions. Instead they try to play 'Big Brother' and to tell us what's good for us. In reality they know nothing about bikes and bikers, and we don't need them screwing around with our lifestyle. No politician is qualified to mess with motorcycling. They should leave well alone.

As mentioned above MAG is launching its 'Bikers Are voters 2000' campaign on 22nd July 2000. The politicians like to kid themselves that bikers are still apathetic and uninterested. We need you to show them that is not true.

On July 22nd 2000 at 2pm we need 50,000 bikers in Trafalgar Square to launch this campaign.

Please do all you can to be there,

Please do all you can to get other bikers there.

It's as simple as this:

We Thank You and We'll See You There!

Yours Faithfully,

Neil F. Liversidge

MAG National Chairman