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Bike Week (Credit Joolze Dymond, Cycling UK)Get off your bikes! Tebbit tells MPs
Norman Tebbit, the Conservative MP and Peer whose father found work by getting on his bike, suggested an annual MPs’ bike ride was cancelled, calling it a “foolish exhibition” likely to increase congestion and pollution.
Baron Tebbit wrote the letter to Ruth Cadbury MP (Lab), in response to an invitation to the annual event, in which Parliamentarians ride less than three miles from the Dutch Embassy to Parliament.
Cadbury, who is the co-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Cycling Group, shared the letter on Twitter, with the comment "'On your bike' Tebbit objected to our invitation to join us on yesterdays annual Parliamentary bike ride".
'Revolutionary' Gov. cycling plans “unambitious” say parliamentary cycling group
In a letter dated 24 May 2016, Tebbit wrote: “I was sorry to read in your recent circular of your proposal to increase peak hour traffic congestion in central London on Wednesday 8 June.
“Not only is that a nuisance, but by increasing congestion it will increase pollution.
“I suggest you cancel this foolish exhibition.”
Commenting on Tebbit's letter to Ruth Cadbury MP, Sam Jones, Cycling UK campaigner suggested perhaps Tebbit had misunderstood the letter as a suggestion to drive, rather than cycle, to Parliament.
He said: "Lord Tebbit famously encouraged people looking for work to "get on your bike", so we hope he supports Cycling UK's plan for Bike Week starting this Saturday. We're looking to do exactly this and help get over half a million more people onto their bikes and out of polluting vehicles on their daily commute.
"I can only presume that he misread Ruth Cadbury's circular, and thought she was suggesting driving from the Dutch Embassy to Westminster. Hopefully he'll be able to join his fellow Parliamentarians, the Dutch Embassy and Cycling UK next year on the ride and realise his mistake - we'll happily supply him with a bike if he needs one!"
Tebbit was popularly known as “onyerbike” for some considerable time after the 1981 Brixton and Handsworth riots.
Tebbits had responded to a suggestion rioting was a natural reaction to unemployment by saying: “I grew up in the '30s with an unemployed father. He didn't riot. He got on his bike and looked for work, and he kept looking till he found it.”
However, the peer's feelings toward the bicycle seem to be less warm of late. Last week he sent a written question to Parliament, apparently concerned about law-breaking cyclists giving false addresses.
His question was: “To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they ensure that the identity and addresses given by cyclists being issued with fixed penalty notices are not false.”
In response Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon pointed out the application of powers to request an individual’s identity is an operational matter for police.
The Annual MPs bike ride launches Bike Week, which this year runs 11-19 June. Cycling UK says half a million people will take to two wheels across the UK, in a host of events designed to encourage people onto two wheels, from bike breakfasts to buddy ride events. To find out more, click here.
Laura Laker is a freelance journalist with more than a decade’s experience covering cycling, walking and wheeling (and other means of transport). Beginning her career with road.cc, Laura has also written for national and specialist titles of all stripes. One part of the popular Streets Ahead podcast, she sometimes appears as a talking head on TV and radio, and in real life at conferences and festivals. She is also the author of Potholes and Pavements: a Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network.
Latest Comments
- mark1a 12 min 41 sec ago
This is the same organisation that funded the rescue of Planet X. Interesting.
- Andrewbanshee 20 min 50 sec ago
Tbh I only wear bright and reflective clothing and use multiple lights is to diminish any arguments that I wasn't doing enough to be seen and safe!...
- Hirsute 23 min 33 sec ago
How is this NOT dangerous driving ?
- Cugel 34 min 17 sec ago
The point is that there's no need to create more "infrastructure" dedicated to cyclists if the worst and dangerous offenders on the road are...
- stonojnr 50 min 51 sec ago
True, fwiw they're half decent round my neck of the woods, but I appreciate having travelled around the UK via train, it ain't always so good...
- Legin 1 hour 38 min ago
The tory party will oppose anything that might restrict their tanks rolling at the next election.
- EraserBike 1 hour 44 min ago
I'm sure this (and other 3D printed models) are made where labour costs are cheap also. Nobody is making these in Europe. There's only so much ...
- mdavidford 2 hours 9 min ago
Especially since the similarly priced Tickr X did have that functionality.
- anke2 2 hours 49 min ago
CX is brutal in terms of forces acting on the chain. A single, technical kick at 40 RPM by Iserbyt with a small chainwheel might put more load on...
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12 comments
I'm vaguely related to Norman on my mother's side of the family but have decided to remove him from my Christmas card list after reading this.
Utter bell end. But, you know what. It is a pointless charade. Don't cancel it. Do whatever makes you feel good. But don't just have a sop to cycling. Do something meaningful instead.
From an unhappy mould of deprecating Britons stuck in the past. As o.p. Said, will be dead soon and not missed by many.
This is the same old fool that ran down the road after a Chinese New Year parade and kicked a child because they were making a noise....
I occasionally see the grumpy old cretin in the local supermarket. Another unelected Lord proving that Britain is not actually a democracy.
As much as I dislike 'first past the post', I would certainly not agree that the UK is not democratic, quit the opposite, democracy has been working fairly well here. I've watched many 38 Degrees campaigns along with public lobbying succeed in stopping the Tories from introducing some horribly draconian legislation.
So you don't like the Lords which in the past has also stopped governments from passing outrageous legislation, that's what the Lords are good at - stopping extreme legislation. Tell me, what would be a good replacement for the Lords? An elected lords would be pointless because they'd just rubber stamp everything the govt does or they'd be pointlessly partisan, something which the Lords isn't. I've yet to hear of anybody come up with a good idea for a replacement of the Lords and any suggestion the government comes up with will typically just be a system that lets them rule carte blanche.
Actually an idea just sprang into my head, the public get to vote on each and every piece of legislastion such as the swiss do with legislation requiring both a parliamentary vote and a public vote. But I would very strongly NOT support internet voting for this. The problem here is the public might tire of going to vote every week or so and the logistics of counting all of the votes without using machines that can easily be rigged would be a head-ache.
The current govt want to reduce the number of MPs, gerrymandering and reducing democracy in one fell swoop.
</ essay> !
So you're saying, it's a democracy but it's not, but it's okay because they occassionally do something useful, except when they don't, but I'll overlook that because it suits me, and I personally haven't heard anything that I personally think is better.
Cringeworthy guff.
Presumably his thinking is that only the unemployed should be on bikes, looking for work. MPs on the other hand, as fully employed individuals, ought to be driving cars to underline their importance at every opportunity and distinguish them from the jobless masses. Or at the very least taking taxis - which I'm very sure most of them already do as a matter of principle.
His question was: “To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they ensure that the identity and addresses given by cyclists being issued with fixed penalty notices are not false.”
I expect the issue is much larger with pedestrians you fossilised, deranged cockwomble
To which the answer is:
"The same way that the police verify the identity and address of any other person suspected of a non-motoring offence for which they intend to issue a fixed penalty notice (e.g. for antisocial behaviour, disorder, environmental crime, truancy or noise)."
Or maybe...
"To ask Lord Tebbit what evidence he has that cycle users are any more likely than other suspects to give false names or addresses when issued with fixed penalty notices for non-motoring offences?"
Silly man!
He certainly seeps to be slipping into his dotage, his outbursts are getting more and more bizarre and rabid.
Tebbit will be dead soon enough, the wretched and horrible piece of shit that he is.
Too complimentary towards the 2 faced git