No To the Bike Parking Tax

To have swelled our "peaceful" numbers beyond that of the "violence-threatening" anti-capitalist protestors has made us many new friends in a myriad of places, and has isolated the WCC Tory Councillors in a totally unprecedented manner.

Of the indifferent press response, I am greatly encouraged by today’s article in The Sun which has finally recognised the national aspect of our campaign. Admittedly, the BBC’s decision to interview in the middle of the road, whilst their website ran with a prediction of what they thought would occur as opposed to what was actually happening was unfortunate, but at least showed that they have a grip on what’s happening in the capital as opposed to the like of the so-called "London" papers, the Standard & the London Paper who failed to report on it at all. Let’s be honest, how can 4,500 people gather in Trafalgar Square to challenge the richest borough in the UK, let alone the Capital, and the main London papers not acknowledge us. But you must not ignore the reality – with such little press, the credit for swelling our numbers can only be down to you guys out in the field.

Now no-one can deny that we are an army that is enlisting new recruits at a rate that has surprised even us, and that is in no small part down to you all. From the original 6 of us who formed back in September last year, our "subscribed" numbers are topping 4,000 and that is now translating into the numbers answering our "calls to arms" by turning out for our rallies. And for me the reason is plain to see: as I said before, too many people in authority in this country recognise that the traits of ignorance, apathy and general impotence allow them to act virtual carte blanche. What we have achieved is to show our fellow riders; firstly, what is truly going on, thereby removing the ignorance; secondly, by showing how much we care and are determined to fight back, we are stimulating others out of their apathy; and thirdly, and to me most crucially, we are showing that, by joining our cause, no longer do you need to feel impotent, in fact, I can see in so many of your faces the look of empowerment, and that is the most personally satisfying feeling.

As to the meeting itself, as I said to my Committee Members in a message of thanks to them all on Wednesday, this was the first time we have had the opportunity to engage the enemy face-to-face and the WCC video of the event will testify to the strong, direct and totally-dignified manner in which our case was presented against a back-drop harrying for time by the Chair, Cllr Harvey, whose constant insisting that any opposition speaker should state whether they were a resident or not, was a clear indication of their premeditated decision to justify ignoring our case on a "lack of resident opposition" stance. Hence Mr Kevin Goad’s (Assistant Director of Parking at Westminster) embarrassment at having to admit (1) that whilst the number of residents who had rejected the scheme when firstly "consulted" by WCC was over 100, the number of residents backing the scheme were zero, and then (2) that the report was indeed full of mathematical inaccuracies. Interesting how firstly that neither Mr Kieran Fitsall (who prepared the report for scrutiny), nor Mr Goad (there to back up the report), nor even Cllr Danny Chalkley himself (the architect of the tax) are residents of Westminster, and secondly, these inaccuracies weren’t picked up by the oh-so-responsible Councillor of the "Scrutiny" Committee.

I would ask you all to be under no illusions regarding what Tuesday’s meeting was about. The predetermined need to "protect-one-of-their-own" as opposed to weighing the arguments was not only blatantly apparent for all to see, but oh-so-predictable. They were never going to concede to us so publicly, and in truth, the "recommended" reductions in the tax, although totally unacceptable to us, were a clear sign that they know they have screwed-up. Decisions which will give us the result we want I can guarantee you will be made in private, and made known as quietly as this tax was implemented. I have always maintained that this campaign was going to take time, and you must all take encouragement from the fact that, as every day passes, our army is growing.

In truth, Tuesday was a fantastic night for us. We have risen from obscurity to become a powerful institution that a multitude of organisations, both authoritative and commercial, are now queuing up to sign their allegiance. We made many, many friends that night by showing, in a peaceful and educated way, we can make things change, and I can assure you all, we will achieve our aims. So, let’s take a little time to congratulate ourselves on what we have achieved so far, and then concentrate our minds on the task ahead.

It has given us all a clear indication as to where we should be focusing our message – the residents and retailers of WCC. And judging by how quick Danny Chalkley was to shout foul when we fly-posted the retailers, it is clear that WCC fear the truth being exposed, so I would ask you all to put your minds to suggesting ways in which you would like to see this happening. I have suggested that the Committee take a small break over Easter, mainly because they, like many of you, have worked tirelessly to promote our cause, and also so that they can reflect on the challenge before us as a Committee of marshalling the almighty force of so many to the best effect. We will be listening to all of your comments and thoughts, so do keep them coming, and we will announce our strategies for going forward later this month.

I will ask Josef to add some juicy photos and the new Video of the demo to this missive, but in the meantime, please keep spreading the word. THE FIGHT GOES ON TO THE DEATH (of the tax that is!!).

Yours,