TOMCC decided to affiliate to the Motorcycle Action Group as a gesture of support for the work MAG does protecting rider’s rights in an environment that is becoming increasingly hostile to the internal combustion engine. 

The ‘climate emergency’ is used to justify profound changes to your freedom to choose how and when you travel. The Motorcycle Action Group is working to protect your choice in personal transport, with others who want a serious and data-based discussion on environment, liberty and practicality.

The Government wants to ban the sale of all new Internal Combustion Engined machines by 2035 at the latest, motorcycles included. MAG is part of a Steering Committee with others concerned about the impact on personal choice. Key contributors are MAG, the Alliance of British Drivers (ABD), the Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) and Fair Fuel UK (FFUK). 

The threatened ban on Internal Combustion Engined vehicles, is driven by the Government’s ambition to cut greenhouse gases in the belief this will reduce negative effects of human activity on earth’s climate. Also, the proposal to introduce E10 fuel – petrol that contains 10% ethanol – is intended to make the UK’s transport emissions greener. This fuel could be unusable in older petrol motorcycles. 

On the health side, removing road space and giving it to cyclists is supposed to help social distancing during Covid-19, improve ‘active travel’ and cut emissions. It all limits your choice of motive power, access to road space and ability to use existing road vehicles and it affects much of the vehicle stock on the highways, not just motorcycles. We are seeking some say over this and feel that the agenda is currently being driven forward by a very small caucus of sometimes militant and law-breaking activists who steal headlines in a media that doesn’t seriously challenge – or even understand – the environmental or health science.

What you can do now is write to your MP, asking if they support or oppose the ban in internal combustion engines. We can evolve the campaign accordingly on an MP-by-MP basis. We are finding more individuals and organisations to speak up – and MAG is showing a lead in working with them.