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Lobbying against Martlew
I will bung this on my Martlew page but I want to share the experience
of a group of cycle campaigners I met with yesterday in how to approach your MP regarding Martlew. First, check history. Did they sign EDM1783, 2003 (last year's BeHIT one) and have they signed EDM778 (Active Travel) this year? If they have not, urge them to sign it. Experience indicates that in the first instance a short letter is best; if you are pushing at an open door there is not much point boring them, and if they are pro then you need to find out why in order to emphasise the arguments most likely to convince. Check their interests and make reference to them if relevant (e.g. child health, road safety). For Labour MPS, especially those with a history of working in childrens' issues, the number one button to press is that of rising obesity. You can suggest that they "might not have been made aware" that every country which has introduced helmet compulsion has suffered dramatic drops in cycling, with the largest drop in every case being among teenagers. In Syndey the drop in teenage cycling was up to 90% as a direct result of the law, and has essentially not recovered. 46,000 people died of coronary heart disease due to inactivity last year, and around a dozen children died of cycling-related head injuries. A good key phrase is that the bill will almost certainly shorten more lives than it could ever hope to save. For Lib-Dem MPs you can appeal also to liberal principles: this Bill is interference of a type unwarranted by the scale of the problem. For Tories, especially right-wing Tories, the "nanny state" button works well. What next, you can ask? Mandatory thermometers for babies' baths? It is also worth pointing out that the bill is contentious, as many MPs are unaware of this, and that the Government has admitted that it knows of no case where cyclist safety has improved due to increased helmet wearing. They will probably also be unaware that a TRL survey showed that 93.5% of children on urban minor roads are not currently wearing helmets, so any law would present massive enforcement problems (good one to go for with any MP with a history of promoting police issues, also possibly worth asking your local police to write to the MP along these lines). The way the law is drafted it will also raise the possibility of criminalising parents, teachers, bike shop employees, youth leaders and the like if a child removes their helmet even without permission. If you are a youth leader or teacher this is one to lead with: it risks criminalising you even if the child removes the lid without your knowledge. The most likely outcome, as presented by several people I have met who have youth leadership experience, is that cycling will simply be dropped as being too risky in terms of personal exposure to prosecution. And finally, you might mention that the list of organisations opposed to compulsion includes: the British Medical Association, the Royal College of General Practitioners, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, the National Cycling Strategy Board, the Association of Cycle Traders (who actually sell helmets so are one of the few bodies who have anything to gain from the law), British Cycling, CTC, the Cycle Campaign Network - and indeed just about every body concerned with cycling or cycle safety. If you are going to see your MP make sure you take a copy of the CTC leaflet with you url:http://www.ctc.org.uk/resources/Campaigns/CTC12ppleafleta_w.pdf - your right to ride rep may have a proper printed one, or you can get one from Cotterell House. The Bill is to be read on April 23. On that day Oxfam are asking all MPs to be in their constituencies for a do of some kind. But... second on the menu is a Tory PMB calling for a referendum on Europe, so there may well be more MPs than we would like (if there aree too few MPs in the house, as there generally are, it only takes one to call for a count and the bill goes back to the ed of the queue and will die). If your MP is pro compulsion - join Oxfam and lobby for them to be in their constituency that day! -- Guy === May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting. http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk 88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University |
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Lobbying against Martlew
Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
The Bill is to be read on April 23. On that day Oxfam are asking all MPs to be in their constituencies for a do of some kind. But... second on the menu is a Tory PMB calling for a referendum on Europe, so there may well be more MPs than we would like (if there aree too few MPs in the house, as there generally are, it only takes one to call for a count and the bill goes back to the ed of the queue and will die). Since her career in Parliament seems to be over for the time being, won't your MP, as a keen cyclist, turn up and ask for a count? Tony |
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Lobbying against Martlew
On Sun, 4 Apr 2004 10:29:32 +0100, "Tony Raven"
wrote in message : Since her career in Parliament seems to be over for the time being, won't your MP, as a keen cyclist, turn up and ask for a count? She is out of the country that day with a long-standing commitment. The one or two other reliable ones are similarly committed elsewhere. -- Guy === May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting. http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk 88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University |
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Lobbying against Martlew - pages updated
url:http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk/web/public.nsf/Documents/martlew_bill
now updated to include the preceding and some other stuff. -- Guy === May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after posting. http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk 88% of helmet statistics are made up, 65% of them at Washington University |
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