Hello <<First Name>>!

First of may I ask you all to double check your profile and details, and if anything is incorrect please update, the mailing is so large now that we are doing some data cleaning, go here to check your profile. Also, welcome to all new campaigners, there has been a huge influx in the past week, we hope to see you at the next demo, ok now back to the newsletter:

My message to you this week has to start with two pieces of unrelated news, but from which we can take great encouragement.

The first is this video report from the BBC: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1McvQTuhO54 in which Danny Chalkley (Conservative Councillor at Westminster City Hall pushing this through) ers & ums his mind into spin-mode to avoid having to admit their new initiative to up parking rates & operational hours is indisputably revenue-raising. Hopefully now those, like the Association of West End Theatres who were quick to dance to Danny’s tune in berating us for taking to the streets will see that they were seriously backed the wrong team, also I suggest you see the sequel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nuunOrS-vQ (Oh.. Danny is telling the truth! Albeit a because of video editing…)

More importantly, it should make us all proud that us riders are prepared to stand up and fight as opposed to the roll-over and take it motorist brigade. Maybe now the residents & trades of Westminster will sit up and take notice of our yellow bibs, especially when we take to the streets again on 4th Feb.

As to the second piece, I refer to the Chilcott Inquiry into the Iraq War. Having seen the publication of the permanent Traffic Orders as WCC continue their struggle to mainstream this vile tax into everyday life, we have also seen some despondent, and, in some cases, almost defeatist comments posted that our fight is over, to which I would like to say:-

"Chilcott"

For those of you who (sometimes understandably) avoid the News, the Chilcott Inquiry is yet another attempt to have the justifications for our War on Saddam Hussein examined for their validity. Remember, there was great indignation & disagreement against the decision to go into a war that has been over for quite a few years now. However, some people, somewhere are not prepared to let the matter settle.

So let it be with our campaign, which is still at the "Decision to go to war stage" – in other words, nowhere near as far down the line as Chilcott, yet far more penetrative. With the real possibility that a contributory factor in Blair’s decision to go to war was his not wanting to look weak to the US, the same can be said of Danny Chalkley who has clearly ignored reasoned common sense lest he appear politically weak to his fellow Councillors. Hence, he, as predicted, has made a decision to make this totally unjustifiable scheme permanent.

This is in no way the end for us, in fact it is merely a new start and whilst I personally now knuckle down to prepare the legal action, I would implore you all to send a copy of our Demand for a Public Inquiry to your own MP and insist that they report back to you on what progress is being made by the authorities to facilitate it. Suffice to say, a letter to these Govt. Departments from an MP gets an immediate response. If your MP feels that there is nothing to be investigated, demand he/she list out the reasons on each and every point listed on the front page. Rest assured, it is inherent in all such officials to find the quickest way of dealing with these matters – it is sheer bloody-minded persistence that really wins the day. Once they appreciate that you will not let the matter rest, then, and only then will they be bothered to give it a fair hearing.

So, my friends, let battle commence on all flanks, and let no other Council be unaware of what will hit them if they try to emulate WCC.

The Legal Challenge – funding

As I now await the advice from the Legal experts, can I emphasise that, even though we have raised an incredulous sum already, we are still £20k short – so, if you haven’t already donated, please send us your £10. You can donate via the website, but can I request that you avoid credit/debit cards as they do incur a hefty charge. Donating direct is free and can be done to A/c No 11411047, Sort Code 40-02-35 – Name of A/c "Warren Djanogly NTBPT"

Demo to Millbank on 4th Feb

The registrations for this demo have been flooding in and we urge anyone else to complete the registration as soon as possible. Please remember, this is so that you will be informed of a secret gathering point for bikes headed to the demo, which itself will be outside Tory Party HQ as we again ask why they slate any Labour Council initiatives as stealth-taxing, yet suggest that, with regard to WCC, Local Councils should be left to their own legislating. The "notice of venue" will be texted and emailed to all registered at 12.30pm, so please ensure that you are at least near to the borough of Westminster by that time. If this means you will not be able to receive an email or text, please arrange to meet up with others who will be receiving the text.

Naturally, if you don’t want to register, you are still welcome to join us at Millbank at 1.30pm.

Whilst we hope to have a selection of banners for demonstrators to hold, we also encourage you all to bring you own, bearing message that you want the Conservative Party HQ to see. Whilst we hope you will truly let them know what you think of their inaction against the implementers of blatant non-Tory party policy, we request that you keep it specifically aimed at the Motorcycle Charging Scheme lest we be branded as a total anti-Tory organisation. Lets be honest, if they do assume power, we will need to be appealing to them to scrap this tax.

Promoting the demo

As many "unawares" may be descending on London that day to attend the MCN show at eXcel, can you all hit those other forums to suggest they come to Millbank for 1.30pm and then go on to eXcel, or come to Millbank on their way home.

Fliers & Posters

Once again, great thanks goes to Cliff Finn and the gang at First Colour who have donated the superbly printed fliers & posters for this demo, and we urge you to contact [email protected] to arrange collection. All you guys who helped get posters up in the shops, can we ask you for a repeat performance, and there is a list of currently postered bays and shops taking shape on the forum (please add to the discussion).

PDF Fliers for 4th Feb Demo (If you cannot pick up the printed ones, but we urge you to collect the professionally printed fliers from Charlie!)

x4 to a page – COLOUR
x4 to a page – B&W

x8 to a page – COLOUR
x8 to a page – B&W

Poster – COLOUR
Poster – B&W

Defaced signs

No need to repeat what I said in the last mail about this issue save to say that, In line with the string on the forum explaining that PCN’s issued for non-payment may not be enforceable if the sign is in any way illegible, we have printed a leaflet explaining this (with a copy of the WCC letter confirming it) and, as this flier does not promote a specific event, it can be used continually (click here for copy).

Other News

You may have noticed that a regular commentary has started through our now resident blogger "Crossroads Rider" and we encourage you all to keep abreast through it and comment accordingly. I am also delighted to hear that MAG are making a concerted effort to inform bikers across the country of the potential cancer being cultivated by Mr Gilchrist, which should help us mobilise against any other borough foolhardy enough to think that bikers will roll-over and take it.

See you hopefully on the 4th

Warren & the No To the Bike Parking Tax Committee

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Hello <<First Name>>!

Whilst I wish you all a happy new year, the ridiculous, yet not unexpected news came through that Chalkley (pictured below left) has approved the making of the "Ali G (Alastair Gilchrist pictured right) & Danny C Pension Fund" aka the (unjustifiable) Motorcycle Charging Scheme (MCS) permanent, even after thousands of official objections, so our next demo really needs to pack a punch!

For what its worth, my personal assessment is that, alas, like the few MP’s who feel that their ridiculous expense claims are above question, we see the highly-inflated egos of the lesser legislators allowing the fear of appearing politically weak to cloud their rationale. This inability to ever admit fault will again see a heavy burden placed on the public purse in defending the errant ways of those elected to promote the best interests of their elctorate, not their own self-serving ends.

In light of the myriad of watchdog bodies now investigating the horrendous iregularities pertaining to almost every aspect of the implementation & enforcement of this blatant stealth-tax, one can only speculate as to the motives behind a stance that may well see a multitude of class actions from a hitherto ignorant public, both motorcylist & motorist, made aware of the true beneficiaries of their parking charge, as mere chancers hoping to escape on technicalities.

Eitherway, what little integrity these individuals may have had before the intense scrutiny of their actions has certainly evaporated in the eyes of a large number of voters, who may well apportion a large part of the blame on the main political party who gave these people a ticket to exploit.

Let battle commence!

Miserable stuff over, now the goodies!!

As we struggle back to work, many of you will have noticed that a large number of the bays have had their signs defaced. This committee in no way condones unlawful acts, however, it would appear from the attached letter from WCC Asst. Head of Parking, Kevin Goad (Forum topic), that a defaced sign could render a PCN, issued for non-payment, as unenforceable. Whilst we are happy to pass this information on, we would say that non-payment under such circumstances is at your own risk.

Furthermore, we would be delighted if you guys could pass on this information by either word of mouth, or by helping distribute the new fliers that we will be preparing to alert all those parking in Westminster about the free parking loop hole, these latest developments on the streets of Westminster have been covered by numerous articles, please we ask you to add your comments to these articles, they will be read by other motorcyclists and scooterists and only increase our numbers in to the 10′s of thousands (we are not far off), here are some of those articles that all allow public comments (usually below the article):

- Crossroads Rider:

Thurs: "Westminster decide to make bike parking tax scheme permanent" – opponents say “Let battle commence!”
Fri: "Westminster begins fightback against motorbike parking tax protesters by replacing defaced signs"
Sat: "Protesters fightback against Westminster’s attempts to get cash flowing in again from bike parking tax"

- Nutsville:

Mon: "What happens when bikers are ignored"
Thurs: "Morph goes to town on Westminster signs (Video)"
Fri: "Westminster Council puts parking revenue above safety"
Sat: "Thursday, Friday, Happy Days."

- Visordown:

Tues: "Bikers take action over Westminster Parking Charge"
Fri: "Westminster replaces defaced parking bay signs"
Sat: "Bikers fight back at Westminster parking charge"

- UK France Bikers:

Mon: "Bikers have suspended Westminster’s parking tax!"
Thurs: "Westminster’s most democratic decision: make the bike parking tax permanent"
Sat: "The battle between taxed and free motorcycle parking in Westminster continues"
Sun: "Bikers’ quick turn around in Westminster"

Our next gathering – 4th February 2010

Many of you know, this date would have seen the end of the experimental scheme. However, now WCC have declared their intentions, the fight not only goes on but intensifies. Our gathering will not yet be the victory parade we had hope, but a flash demo back to Millbank with banners aplenty demanding answers from Tory HQ as to why they are allowing their local boys to inflict stealth-taxes, yet slating any Labour Council for doing similar. Should make for an interest press opportunity in the run-up to the General Election. And…just like last-time we went there, we will do it at lunchtime for maximum effect by meeting at 1pm and arriving at Millbank at 1.30pm.

The difference however is that this "gathering" will start from a secret location at 1pm somewhere in Westminster for which anyone wishing to attend will be required to send us their email address OR mobile phone number, and they will be informed of the location 1 hr before being due to meet there. Anyone responding will be asked if there are any of their mates’ who would want emailing, and they can send us those other email, or mobile phone numbers, so that a pyramid communication network can be established.

Remember, 150 bikers outside Millbank would be a spectacle enough – more would be great, and with 300 on our forum alone and over 6,500 on this mailing list, we are confident this will be a splendid, and more personal demo for all you guys, who have bonded with each other through past demos & this forum.

Fill in your details at this registration box on the site, so please think of others you would like us to contact, and for those of you with no mobile, or Internet access, please buddy up with someone who has and arrange your own meeting point. Register for the next demo.

Other news:-

As said in my new year’s eve message, WCC are being attacked from a host of fronts:-

(1) The EU Commissioners’ Investigation into irregularities regarding the awarding of the Pay-By-Phone contract to Alastair Gilchrist’s pals at Verrus UK Ltd. Official case number: SG-CDC-2008A-7695.

(2) Our own Demand for a Public Inquiry into the above, as well as the mere "handing" of the Pilot Scheme Verrus as well. Delighted to announce that Labour MP Steve Pound has confirmed that he will champion this demand to ensure it gets enacted.

(3) The Office of Fair Trading has opened a case into the major anti-competition elements surrounding the contracts given to Verrus. Official case number: EPIC/ENQ/E/75795.

and if that lot is not enough, with the Parking Department being the only one heading for a budget deficit of over £10m, and with Cllr Chalkley having already asked for an additional £200k for defaced/vandalised signs following a much smaller spate early last year, the actions of the somewhat more angrier victims of this "Alastair Gilchrist pension Pot" scheme are showing the world that, when you attack the bikers, who (a) ask for NO concessions, and (b) reduce pollution & congestion, you do so at your own peril, whoever you are, and whoever you THINK you are!

Suffice to say, the biggest mistake these comedians made is allowing their own Ali G to convince them that bikers would be a pushover. Message to Ali G, a motorbike or scooter is merely a machine – don’t underestimate those who ride them!

See as many of you who can take a lunchtime off to join us on the 4th Feb 2010 (Register here)

~ Warren and the rest of the NTBPT committee

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