Didn't have a clue who to vote for this election , so I wrote to each of the 3 main local candidates and said I'm going to base my vote on the following 3 questions- which party will do the most to cut down bicycle crime, promote cycling and make the roads safer for cyclists.
The results, in the order in which they replied, are:

Keith Angus (LibDem) came back with a whole cycling manifesto, most of which deals with local issues in a fine and practical manner. Will post up if people are interested.

Darren Caplan (Con) said:
"Dear Matthew
Thank you for writing.
I am happy to liaise with you on this. However, as a rule I only respond to emails where I have address / telephone number contact details – I would be grateful if you could supply. Trust you understand.
I look forward to touching base with you in due course.
Kind regards
Darren"

Diane Abbott (Lab) finally(!) got back to me with this:

"Dear Matthew,

Thanks for your email regarding cycling.

Cycling is a cheap, healthy and environmentally friendly way of getting around the city and is becoming more and more popular everyday. I myself do not drive and so use public transport myself to get around Hackney and to Westminster. I therefore know some of the frustrations that both pedestrians and cyclists experience.

I do want to see roads made safer for cyclists. I have read about too many deaths due to collisions with heavy goods vehicles. I signed a motion in Parliament calling for the restriction of such huge lorries driving through the City during rush hour periods. I also support the promotion of cycling. Hackney is quite a cycle friendly borough already but improvements could be made. Hackney Council's targets are to achieve an 80% increase in cycling levels by 2010 and a 200% increase by 2020 compared to cycling levels in 2000.

As for bicycle crime, the overall crime rate in Hackney indicates that cycle theft is an area which needs focus. In London, the Metropolitan Police crime data indicates that 33% of stolen bicycles are left unlocked and unattended on the street. In response to this, the local Labour council has developed a cycle plan which includes providing secure cycle parking in Hackney located in the correct position to maximise natural and passive surveillance to prevent bikes being stolen in the first place.

I hope this answers your questions, and thank you again for contacting me.

Yours sincerely

Diane Abbott"

Vote Green…

(You know it makes sense, maaaaan.)

Heh heh didn't think of that one….

I think you've got your answer – LD as they've "came back with a whole cycling manifesto, most of which deals with local issues in a fine and practical manner"; however, with a 7000+ majority, Ms. Abbott is likely to still be your MP whichever way you vote.

<soapbox>This is why we need electoral reform – anyone who lives in a safe seat is effectively disenfranchised under the current system.</soapbox>

Andy

Just wrote to Matt Selwood (Green Party candidate) asking the same questions. I'll post up his reply if + when he gets back to me…

shermer75 – Member

Darren Caplan (Con) said:
"Dear Matthew
I look forward to touching base with you in due course.

For that phrase alone he wouldn't get my vote.

Would be interested in your original enquiry as I might just send the same out here!

"…effectively disenfranchised under the current system…" Unless they vote for the sitting candidate! (Agree about the need for electoral reform, BTW.)

I simply said:

"Hello, for the first time I am finding it very difficult to decide who to vote for in a General Election. So, as I am a keen cyclist, I would like to ask you, Diane Abbott and Darren Caplan (I am writing to them separately) the same three questions: which party will do the most to cut down bicycle crime, promote cycling and make the roads safer for cyclists.

Many thanks, believe me I really do appreciate your time on this matter."

That one obviously went to Keith Angus…. 😉

Are you unhappy with Diane Abbott though? (very different to reality I know, but she always comes over well on the telly)
Be careful what you wish for though over cycling 'improvements' as these are rarely implemented by actual cyclists, but by traffic planners and highway engineers, and often cyclists come out worse than before.

Fair point, it's gotta be said she is making all the right noises there….

you'd vote based on bicycling? how quaint.

Yep! 😉

I wonder when Dianne Abbot last rode a bike 🙂

Diane Abbott is your MP and you don't know who to vote for ? ffs 😯

Much I intensely dislike the shower of self-serving unprincipled careerist who now make up the bulk of the Labour Party, Diane Abbott is one of the few conviction MPs left in parliament and who deserves any respect.

On one of the big anti-government demonstrations during run-up to the Iraq war, I saw her there out on the street demonstrating against a Labour government's warmongering policies. And she wasn't an "invited guest" who had come along to speak on the platform, she was just there as an ordinary punter on her own, expressing her personal disapproval (she was walking along speaking on her mobile when I saw her)

You should count yourself extremely lucky to have Diane Abbott as your MP, a conviction MP as opposed to a career MP……. there aren't many like her left.

Didn't she campaign for the abolition of private schools then sent her to…er…a private school?

you'd vote based on bicycling? how quaint.

what are you gonna base your vote on?
economic policy?
national security?
education?
health?

If so then I suggest that YOU are the quaint one.. surely whatever they tell you is gonna be a load of bollo anyway…

Didn't she campaign for the abolition of private schools then sent her to…er…a private school?

It would not make one iota of difference to me whether she had or not. She would have voted against privileged eduction for her own children too. I do not have any problem at all with anyone from humble origins even sending their children to public schools such as Harrow or Eton. If these institutions exist, then I see no reason why they should be the sole preserve of wealthy tory children.

Obviously there is the issue that your children night not receive a well-rounded education, but that is a completely separate one – I see no moral dilemmas. Any more than I would see a moral dilemma in someone paying for immediate private medical care rather than wait 12 months to be treated on the NHS. The only people who have a problem with that sort of thing, are the ultra-leftist purists and Tories who want to use it as a political stick to beat someone.

In my view:

CallMeDave's gang. Allied with various European homophobes and climate-change deniers abroad. Religious nutjob bigots at home. Wants to go back to a form of economic medicine akin to the way the cure for every ailment in the Middle Ages was to bleed it dry.

Boring Frown. A tired and anally retentive control freak of no apparent talents, who loses his temper at the drop of a feather. Head of a bickering collection of incompetent careerists and dimwits.

Nick Cleggasm. Bin Trident. Bin ID cards. Closer links to Europe. Bin sterling, join the Euro. Sort the house of "Lords". Tighter control on the Banks. Etc…

The Also Rans.

Pays your money (if you have any), takes your choice.

PS: I hear that Milliband the Elder is making his move for the post-election NuOldLab bloodletting, backed by Lard Mandleslime…

There's probably the best synopsis I've ever read Woppit.

Which confuses me – as I never thought that I could ever agree with anything you said 😕

…….still think you're a muppet though 😀

Edit.

Did somebody order a bomb?

Coz I just do 8)

Keep posting stuff like that though, and I might start running out of ammo 😐

Why the edit ?

I never considered your posts to be "ammo" – more like vast bowls of stodgy, cold porridge.

I edited because I thought I'd be in a good mood and not slag you off, for a change. Partial fail here, obviously.

Smiley face. So on…

I thought I'd be in a good mood and not slag you off

Ooh…..wrong attitude 😐

I perused through you post with a fine tooth comb, determined to find something which I could slag you off about.
You can imagine my disappointment when I found nothing, in fact, I found that I was in total agreement 🙁

Here's what Matt Sellwood had to say about stuff:

Dear Matthew,

Many thanks for getting in touch on this issue. As you might imagine, the Green Party is passionate about improving London's cycling experience, as we need to drastically increase the levels of people cycling over the next few years in order to cut carbon emissions and transition to a more sustainable society. You will be able to see some of our proposals in our recent response to Hackney Cyclist's manifesto:

http://hackney.greenparty.org.uk/localsites/hackney/news/hackney-greens-respond-to-hackney-cyclists-local-election-manifesto.html

The article above gives some detail on our policies in the areas of road safety and promoting cycling. Cutting down bicycle crime is one of the other areas that we have been working on over the last few years. We believe that the borough needs significantly more secure cycle parking, both on street and as part of new residential and commercial developments. TFL have a part to play in this, but Hackney Council itself can also provide funding and put in place planning requirements to help this to happen. It should also stop obstructing the development of secure cycle parking on Hackney Homes estates, which has been a issue constantly raised with Mischa Borris, Hackney's existing Green Party councillor.

I hope this helps give a flavour of some of our views on these topics!

Very best wishes,

Matt Sellwood

Bleedin 'ell ……….I've just seen this 😯

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/constituency/986/hackney-north-and-stoke-newington

So Diane Abbott got 55% of the vote. Which means that whilst the Labour vote went down 6% nationally compared to 2005, Diane Abbott's vote did the complete opposite and went up 6% !

Seems like it pays to be a committed left-wing MP 8)