I was concerned to learn from former MP Lembit Öpik that his new employer, Motorcycle Action Group, has been casually besmirched in passing during a court case. As a member of MAG and Chair of the Associate Parliamentary Group on Motorcycling, I object. MAG is a serious, strategic and focussed […]
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Government changes policy over causing death or serious injury while disqualified.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has announced that the Government has changed its policy on causing death or serious injury on the roads through driving while disqualified. Now, if the person who caused an accident leading to someone’s death is found to be already disqualified from driving, the driver will face up […]
Read MoreMotorcycle Live gets the royal touch while I discuss the BMW S1000RR with Lembit Öpik
Via Motorcycle Live gets the royal touch: His Royal Highness Prince William Duke of Cambridge visited Motorcycle Live at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham today to get a close look at the UK motorcycle industry and some of the new models that have been launched for 2014. The Duke, who […]
Read MoreThe cost of commuting – train vs car vs motorcycle
I travel to Parliament four days a week most of the year. Unusually, I’m in on a Friday today for the EU referendum bill (Hooray!) but I’d usually have meetings in Wycombe all day. I can commute by motorcycle, car or train. Bike travel can be miserable in the cold […]
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Motorcycle rider licensing must be part of our EU renegotiation
The issue of rider licensing is still causing alarm among motorcyclists. I have been contacted by riders and businesses who are concerned about the complications that the European Union has introduced to the British motorcycle licence through unwelcome directives. This issue is important because as well as being a great […]
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Motorcyclists: ‘Stay in Control’ this Summer
The Government’s ‘Stay In Control’ campaign — developed with partners from the motorcycle industry -– encourages motorcyclists to refine their riding by taking advanced training with qualified instructors and to consider being especially vigilant when road traffic increases as the summer weather arrives. The Minister, Stephen Hammond, has said: Motorcyclists make […]
Read MoreThe Motorcycle Industry Association applauds my defence of UK motorcyclists against EU Legislation
Following the debate I called on motorcycle rider licensing, the Motorcycle Industry Association has “applauded [my] defence of UK motorcyclists against EU Legislation“, The Motorcycle Industry Association (MCI) is fully supportive of MP Steve Baker’s comments this week in parliament, when he accused the EU of ‘heavy-handed mistreatment of bikers’. […]
Read MoreThe EU: adding dreary bureaucracy, aggravation and expense to the joy of motorcycling
Tonight, I led a rather early adjournment debate on motorcycle rider licensing, where the EU has added to the joy of motorcyling, the dreariness, aggravation and expense of capricious bureaucracy. I was grateful to Norman Baker for answering the debate in the place of Mike Penning, who has just moved […]
Read MoreWashington Post: Britain’s continental drift away from the European Union
Via the Washington Post: LONDON — Like so many others in this fiercely independent island nation, Steve Baker, a dashing English engineer, is fed up with the long hand of the European Union in British life. The E.U., he said, has meddled for years in Britain’s legal affairs and labor […]
Read More100 Tory MPs (including me) call for Cameron to prepare legislation for EU referendum
Via 100 Tory MPs call for Cameron to prepare legislation for EU referendum: Is the momentum towards a referendum on Britain’s relationship with the EU becoming irresistable? I ask because, this morning, nearly 100 Tory MPs have signed a letter to the Prime Minister urging him “to place on the […]
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