Hello *|TITLE:FIRST|*!As those of you who follow the forum will know, it has been an incredibly busy couple of weeks – culminating in the filing of a complaint with the Met Police against senior officers at WCC, further reading at: BBC News: Police probe parking ‘fraud’ at Westminster Council
Nutsville: Fraud Office probe demanded into Westminster Council
Crossroads Rider: Will the UK Serious Fraud Office investigate claims that top Westminster Council officers were part of a £200m Parking Enforcement contract scandal – or not?
UK France: Two Westminster Council senior officers under police investigation for suspected fraud The previous demonstration "The Gathering" + 2 videos.You will also know how much more impact a pre-demo meeting of riders, directed to a pre-determined meeting point at Trafalgar Square by a text message a mere 30 minutes prior, led to a slow (and perfectly legal) circling around the roundabout on the south-side that took all of 3 minutes to grind the whole of the area to a complete standstill!  Our message of “treat us like cars, and we’ll congest like cars” could not have been more forcefully made, and whilst this element of the day was created by less than 150 riders, the news soon filtered to the other 200 who joined us outside Millbank Tower. To say that those who attended Trafalgar Square found it truly invigorating is an understatement, and it has definitely shown us the way forward for this campaign. Great thanks to all who gave up their lunch to create one of our most high-impact demos to date.  Our next demo:
Before outlining the way forward, please can you make careful note that our next demo will take place on Tuesday 9th March, at 6pm in Northumberland Avenue (between Trafalgar Sq at the river). This has been deliberately co-ordinated to coincide with the outrageously opulent Civic Dinner being held by the WCC bigwigs will be gorging themselves on the ill-gotten gains from schemes like the Motorcycle Parking Tax. According to Cllr Dimoldenberg, this dinner is costing them £23,000 – which is more than they actually spent on providing the new bays for the bikes – and is in the aftermath of their laying-off over 300 staff – some might muse that they laid off the wrong ones!! To our minds this next demo was a no-brainer, and if ever there could be slap in the face for all you guys who have been forced to pay this vile tax, this Civic Dinner is it. So, ipso facto, this is the best opportunity to let them, and equally their invited ‘special guests’, know exactly what you think of them as individuals, as they will be strutting past a throng of angry protestors of which we hope you will all seize the chance to join. As with the last demo, there will be a text message alert regarding pre-demo meeting points – let’s hope they don’t cause the same disruption, lest a few unwary guests are late in arriving for the Civic Dinner!! Please be sure to let us know if you want a text alert by signing up here, for those that have already registered for an SMS you will receive one prior to the demo. The Legal Case against Westminster
Now that Cllr Chalkley has seen fit to make his tax ‘permanent’ (don’t worry – it can still be revoked!) the doors have opened to legal challenge, and a Judicial Review. So many of you have been incredibly generous and help lift the fighting fund to £30,000, but we are still £20,000 short of the fund we expect to need to fight this case. If you can make another donation, please visit the website for details of how to do so. If you have a local dealer, ask if they will support you in fighting this tax, and tell them what the ramifications are if it spreads. Tens of millions of pounds from your pockets in years to come, or a few pounds now. And don’t forget, when we win our costs will be recovered, and if WCC drop the charge before then, you’ll either get your money back if you want, or it will be donated to the London Air Ambulance. So please, help us get the legal fund up to the level it needs to be, and we can take on Westminster in the courts with the best possible representation! The way forward
Having played politics with these people only to be ignored, and having had our “consultation” used as a legal box-ticker so that they can say they complied with procedure, it is surely now the time to say: enough is enough – the talking is over. History teaches that, if you really want action taken, you have to annoy enough people continually, and I iterate “continually” until the anger that will most certainly be directed at you in the first instance becomes re-directed onto those who have the power to do something about it. Trafalgar Square showed us how quickly people can be angered, but I can assure you that not one person inconvenienced was angered enough to even write to us let alone to WCC. This is where we are doing ourselves a disservice. We on this Committee – and a large number of you guys have told us you feel the same – are now prepared to take the wrath of the WCC residents by continually & consistently recreating legally created traffic bottlenecks & snarl ups, whilst equally consistently spreading the same message:- “Scrap the tax, or scrap the tax-makers – otherwise, don’t travel by bus or car in Westminster” 
IMPORTANT: We plan to start doing these flash meet-ups (NB – these are not demos, since that has a legal requirement for notification to the Police) every Wednesday morning at 8am at different locations. Whilst we don’t expect you all to join us each week, we only need a few dozen of you to cause bottlenecks. We are confident that, once the flak starts getting directed at WCC to do something to stop us, the question has to be asked – “what can they do other than submit to our demands?” Quite simple really. (MAKE SURE YOU ARE REGISTERED FOR THE SMS!!)
The advantages to us are enormous, as all the logistics become easier and the message remains constant & thus undiluted, and easily passed on by all you guys. No more reports; no more consultations; no more discussions. MESSAGE TO WCC:We want this tax scrapped because it inconveniences our lives. If you carry on doing that, we will inconvenience yours. And if, as you are so quick to assert, that the £1 p/day charge is so nominal, then you won’t miss it when you scrap the tax. MESSAGE TO WCC RESIDENT:Tell your elected officials to leave us alone, and then, we’ll leave your borough alone. If they won’t listen to you, vote them OUT in favour of other Tory Councillors who will listen. As always, thanks for your continued support, we would definitely not be where we are now without the MASSIVE support we have and huge number of campaigners. | 
Send us a message using our on-line form, we will get back to you ASAP.
With their slating of any Labour Council for introducing stealth-taxes, we will descend on Millbank, 1.30pm 4th Feb to ask the Tory Grandees to explain why we should be tempted to vote Tory in the face of such blatant hypocrisy.
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