Morris Minor Owners Club

I read that there is going to be a £15 tax on motoring misdemeanours such as parking tickets and anything incurring penalty points. Victim Compensation Fund or something. Yet again this government is using the motorist as a cash cow. Hurry up and have a general election.
Is that too political for the T&Cs?

What makes you think a change of goverment will change this tax Cannot see any of the other parties wanting to try and recover the country from the mess its in, so bet Labour will be re elected

More likely to be a hung Parliament

"cometh the hour, cometh the man"

All parties want to get elected no matter what mess the previous lot have left behind

Can we refuse to pay such (stealth) taxes and argue that as a democracy we should have a referendum on such changes to the law?

What democracy?

Where is the smiley for "tongue in cheek" ???

1 sure thing is whatever happens at a general election our taxes are going up!! Whether they are up front or stealth we are all paying for sorting out the mess of banks and big business.

I read that there is going to be a £15 tax on motoring misdemeanours such as parking tickets and anything incurring penalty points. Victim Compensation Fund or something. Yet again this government is using the motorist as a cash cow. Hurry up and have a general election.
Is that too political for the T&Cs?

The trouble with mentioning 'politics' is that responses invariably descend into comments about the different parties or the Government in general, as they have done here, which has nothing to do with Minors or classic cars or even motorists.

The fact of the matter is that a £15 'surcharge' is being proposed (not implemented yet) to be added to fines, all of which will go directly towards supporting victims of crime. This is nothing new as the 'surcharge' has been added to fines isssued by the courts since April 2007. The proposal is to widen the scheme to include those issued with 'on the spot' penalties for speeding, using a mobile phone while driving, not wearing a seatbelt and parking tickets. It is not just motorists who would be affected as the 'surcharge' would also apply to drunk & disorderly offences, spraying graffiti etc.

The law hasn't changed, it's just a proposal that those who break the law will be fined more, with all of the money going to help victims of crime. Can't see that that's such a bad thing, and I doubt that this would make the slightest bit of difference to most Minor owners. If anything it might make the roads safer for us as the dangerous drivers who persist in speeding and using their mobiles whilst driving might think twice about it if they faced increased fines.

LouiseM wrote: The trouble with mentioning 'politics' is that responses invariably descend into comments about the different parties or the Government in general, as they have done here, which has nothing to do with Minors or classic cars or even motorists.

Without me wanting to be argumentative at all.... but isn't this the reason for an "off topic" section....?

Well the purpose of the 'off topic' forum is explained here:

http://www.morrisminoroc.co.uk/index.ph ... ic&t=10180

This board is specifically aimed at people with an interest in Morris Minors so I, and no doubt most members, visit here in order to discuss and get advice & information on Minors and converse with other like minded people. It's almost like a community really, and you do get to meet people and even become good friends with other members. There's bound to be some 'off topic' subjects that come up, as with any messageboard, but any thread referring to politics does tend to result in some strong views at times and these invariably have nothing to do with the actual subject matter of the thread and more to do with the political persausion of the individual. This has in the past resulted in arguments between members which doesn't help with the smooth running of the messageboard and spoils the enjoyment for others.

Personally, I don't visit a Morris Minor forum in order to hear the political views of other members and I wouldn't impose my political views on others either. The 'no politics' rule is in place on lots of other messageboards, not just this one, and if it helps to prevent arguments amongst members it's got to be a good thing. There are plenty of other forums available for those who wish to complain about the Government, political parties, laws and policies.

I still think that there should be space to comment on policies that affect motoring and classic cars in particular, the freezing of the historic vehicle status, scrappage scheme, taxes on parking fines, where are the victims of an overstay in a parking slot? We should also keep a look out for any future legislation which may cross the Channel and interfere with our freedom to enjoy the use of classic cars.

mike.perry wrote:I still think that there should be space to comment on policies that affect motoring and classic cars in particular, the freezing of the historic vehicle status, scrappage scheme, taxes on parking fines, where are the victims of an overstay in a parking slot? We should also keep a look out for any future legislation which may cross the Channel and interfere with our freedom to enjoy the use of classic cars.

I agree entirely and it’s largely a case of rules being for the obedience of fools and the guidance of the wise.

When I criticised the Prime Minister (After much correspondence with him or his officials, over the issue of historic road tax exemption) over what I concluded could only be a petty, personal, anti classic car whim, I was informed that I had made a political remark (I had, by way of balance, said that I held out no hope, that the leader of the opposition would be any more amenable, yet this, it seems was not political ) and the post ended up locked and looking as if something profane had been moderated (I had to post my reply on the other forum). I have put these points to MMOC HQ and expressed my dissatisfaction with the way the matter was handled but so far they have not replied. They had better reply before my subs are due, if they want a “Reply” and some money from me!!

As Mike says, we need to keep an eye open for legislation, that could have a negative impact on our harmless hobby (For me I would call old cars a way of life). Provided the comments posted refer to the matter at hand, I don’t think that should really be classed as “Political”. It could be argued that since politicians make (Or at least put their names to) our laws, to criticise such laws implies criticism the politicians nominally responsible for it and is therefore political. In the context of fools and wise men, I think such an argument belongs to the former category.

In my constituency, one party (Apart from when an “Independent” stands, due to a difference between the local and national party) has an iron grip on the seat, to the extent that a plastic bag could get elected, if it represented said party (I haven't bothered to fill out an electoral questionaire in ages). All parties have safe seats and it is often in the marginal seats that elections are won and lost. In order to win elections, parties have to appeal to a majority of these swaying voters. Whilst the classic car fraternity has a sizeable number of (In some cases influential) people in its ranks, to the average tabloid courting mainstream political party, we are more use a scapegoats, than as potential voters.

To illustrate what I mean, if in order to tackle “Global warming”, a party said that people would have to learn to make do and mend (Start looking after their cars and keep them longer, rather than planning on what the next new one would be), clock up fewer air miles, etc etc, they would never get elected. Being “Green” is now very much in fashion (Though I don’t wish to go into the pros and cons of “Global warming”) and so politicians have to be seen to be green. If they said, we want to encourage people to buy new cars, because new cars are much cleaner, the average status seeking, neighbour impressing “Motorist ” would be more than happy to go along with it (Indeed it endorses what most of them want to do anyway). If, as part of this, measures were taken to remove all “Old polluters” from the road, such people would be happy to go along with it, even if they knew it was nonsense. So long as the flak is directed elsewhere, they’ll be happy. So far as the classic car lobby is concerned, what’s half a million votes in the great scheme of things?

the trouble with the british is they say a lot and do nothing

would we all stick together ................ i think not

This topic is very relevant to every motorist.

Freedom of speech is our democratic right - Nuff said

I still think that there should be space to comment on policies that affect motoring and classic cars in particular, the freezing of the historic vehicle status, scrappage scheme, taxes on parking fines

There is - there have been plenty of posts on here in relation to matters which directly effect Minors - the scrappage scheme is a case in point. However most members have been able to discuss this without needing to resort to negative or derogatory comments about the Government, opposition parties or policies. At the end of the day this is just a 'scheme' rather than legislation - no-one is being forced into scrapping their Minors. Although it is something that most of us on here wouldn't consider, individuals do have the choice with regards to what they do with their personal possessions.

Don't forget that the MMOC is a member of the FBHVC which actively seeks information about legislation that may impact on historic & classic vehicles and campaigns / lobbies to influence the decision making process. Sandy Hamilton attends their meetings on behalf of the club so members are getting a say with regards to legislation that could effect Minor ownership.

Good point raised there Louise - The scrappage scheme IS optional - However, the proposed stealth tax (which could be imposed for accidently overstaying a parking meter) IS NOT !!!

Is it actually a 'stealth tax' though or is it an increase in fines for those who 'break the law' which will directly assist the victims of crime? Difficult to see how this 'proposed' increase in fines will prevent Minor owners from using and enjoying their vehicles

Overstaying a parking meter has happened to me whilst out working, and was unavoidable, but I didn't blame the Government for it happening. I just try to make sure that it doesn't happen again.

As we will never agree on this subject (:-)) Wouldn't it be better to target crime prevention rather than assisting victims of crime ???