Dear Wakefield MAG Member,
Welcome to the Wakefield MAG e-newsletter. If you can't attend our Tuesday meetings regularly, it's the next best thing to keep you up to date with what we are up to.
I hope everyone had a brilliant Christmas and has a fantastic and biking filled New Year. In addition to getting some Christmas pressies that you really wanted, hopefully you also got some that you gladly want to give away !!!! WHY ? ....... because the Wakefield MAG Post Christmas Auction is only a few weeks away (See below for details).
CONTENTS
1) New Years Resolutions
2) MAG ends 2022 feeling positive
3) Kidzaware Christmas Toy Collection
4) Call to Action - A Reminder
5) Post Christmas Auction
6) Wakefield MAG Annual General Meeting
7) Christmas Raffle
8) Ride like Tom
9) 2023 Rally Dates
10) Owl with Laughter
11) 2023 Meetings
12) Forthcoming Events (for January and beyond)
Hands up how many people have made a New Years Resolution or two? Give up the fags .. drink less .. exercise more .. lose weight .. get out on the bike more, whatever the weather? How many can honestly say that they will be able to keep it up for the whole year .... probably not many.
Want a New Years Resolution that is easy to keep, will make you feel better about yourself, and your contribution to others, will save you money & make the world a better place? Sounds too good to be true? Almost, but not quite ....
One of the best NY resolutions you can possibly make is to join a non-member to MAG this year (or join yourself if you are not a member, rejoin if you have recently lapsed, or ensure you maintain your own membership throughout the year if you are already a member !!!).
This resolution is dead easy to keep (just £30 will guarantee that), you will be positively contributing to the on-going maintenance of your chosen lifestyle, both for you and everyone who rides a bike, you are joining a union of 10,000 like minded souls, and best of all, you will be able to save money by taking advantage of the many benefits and deals only available to MAG members.
You can join MAG at:
Join (or renew) by Direct Debit, then you'll never again have to remember to renew as it will be done automatically for you: www.mag-uk.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Renewal_DD-1_page.pdf.
Membership fees are: Single Membership - £30.00; Joint Membership (two adults) - £45.00; Family Membership - either single or joint adult membership with children added to the membership at £5.00 per child. New members between the ages of 16 and 25 years old receive a £5 discount on first year of MAG membership.
Make this one New Years Resolution you will honestly say you have been able to keep ... Don't put it off ... Join (or rejoin) MAG now !!!
2) MAG ends 2022 feeling positive
The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG), the UK's leading voice for riders' rights, is looking forward to another year of positive outcomes for motorcyclists.
As 2022 draws to a close, MAG will not be resting on its laurels. Following a number of significant successes throughout the year, the organisation will soon be gearing up for another year of defending riders' rights and contributing to the decision-making processes of national and local Government.
Reflecting on the past year, MAG's Chair, Neil Liversidge, said: "This year has seen a return to vigorous campaigning wherever we identify a need. All of our members contribute to this, whether by simply continuing to support MAG with their membership, being politically active or arranging fundraising events, and I offer my grateful thanks to them all.
MAG has chalked up a number of successes, including the commissioning of an independent review of the scientific argument behind the Government's plan to ban all new internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. MAG continues to argue strenuously in favour of a macro-electrical solution (i.e., applied to public transport) rather than a micro solution, which will cause inconvenience and financial hardship to many. Motorcycles are part of the solution being sought and they are part of it right now!
In addition, our premier fundraising events are back on track this year, and I was delighted to welcome delegates to MAG's first full AGM since 2019 where we formally launched 'Operation Earthquake'. It's very much 'business as usual'."
MAG's Central Office closed at noon on Friday 23rd December 2022 and will reopen on Tuesday 3rd January 2023.
Please note that some of our mailings may have been affected by the recent postal strikes with memberships and magazines taking longer than usual to reach you. We would ask you to bear with us, allowing a reasonable amount of time to pass before emailing us for replacements.
MAG invites riders, dealers, mechanics and manufacturers to join MAG and help create a united voice for the common good of the riding community.
MAG's political team look back on a year of campaign work. The agenda for 2022 has of course been dominated by the slow march towards an enforced battery electric solution to the 0.00% of global anthropogenic CO2 emissions emanating from the tailpipes of motorcycles in the UK. But that is by no means the only area of interest that MAG has been working on: www.mag-uk.org/mag-review-of-2022
3) Kidzaware Christmas Toy Collection
We had a huge amount of toys donated to our 2022 Christmas Toy Appeal for Kidzaware, a local Wakefield based charity that the Branch has been proud to support for a number of years. Deputy Rep Chas took the toys along to Kidzaware after our collection deadline of Tuesday 13th December and presented these to Gillian Archbold at the charity.
The charity were absolutely delighted at the donation and very grateful for our on-going support.
4) Call to Action - A Reminder
If you haven't yet contacted your MP, here's a timely reminder.
The British Government wants to ban your right to buy new, internal combustion engine (ICE) powered motorcycles from as early as 2030 (small-capacity petrol bikes and scooters from 2030, and all other, larger capacity bikes and scooters by 2035). The start of that ban is a mere SEVEN years away !!!!
MAG's own survey of riders (which included a large number of MAG and non-MAG members), backed up by a very similar survey by FEMA of European riders, showed that at least 80% of motorcyclists oppose this ban, despite green activists having targeted the survey to skew the result - We estimate that the real proportion of motorcyclists who oppose the ban is well over 90%. Both survey's also highlighted, quite worryingly, that the majority of riders will hang up their leathers and give up biking altogether once petrol powered bikes are no longer widely available. This is the biggest danger to our chosen lifestyle EVER, motorcycling as we know it will simply wither and die out.
ACTION REQUESTED:
MAG is asking all bikers to contact their MP and ask that they support opposing this ban. To make this as easy as possible, MAG has put together an Operation Earthquake Campaign Pack, which contains a couple of template letters together with lots of other useful information.
Link to Campaign Pack: operation-earthquake.mag-uk.org/take-part-operation-earthquake-campaign-pack-makes-it-easy
You can use the template(s) as is, or alter it to add some points you personally wish to emphasise, the choice is yours, but the key bit is to ask your MP to oppose the ban (and hopefully get them on-side). There is an example of a tailored email on our Facebook Page. Once you have contacted your MP, let us know the name of the MP, and similarly, let us know what response you get as MAG is collating all the responses so these can be published.
Whatever your personal views on man made climate change, this ban will have a miniscule positive impact: All road transport (cars, vans, lorries, buses and other road vehicles) accounts for around 30% of global carbon emissions. The UK contributes a mere 1% of this 30% of global carbon emissions, so a total ban of ICE vehicles in the UK will reduce global carbon emissions by a whopping 0.003%. Motorcycles and scooters represent a mere 1% of UK traffic so a ban of those will reduce global carbon emissions by a collosal 0.00003%. Now factor in that carbon dioxide, which is blamed for climate warming, has only a volume share of 0.04% in the atmosphere. And of these 0.04% CO2, 95% comes from entirely natural sources, such as volcanoes or decomposition processes in nature. The human produced CO2 content in the air is thus only 0.0016%. Mathematically, 0.0016% of 0.003% is 0.0. If we really want to reduce the 0.0016% of CO2 attributed to humans, then we had all best stop breathing.
And the cost of the UK ICE ban to reduce global carbon emissions by a whopping 0.003% is ...... £14,700 for each UK average household - money well spent eh, just what we need in a cost of living crisis !!!
As covered in the November 2022 newsletter, the Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) has co-funded a report from The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) on the government's proposal to ban the sale of internal combustion engined vehicles (ICEVs) from 2030 to 2040. The report shows the economic impact of the ban will be five times higher than any economic benefits. Using the Government's own methodology for calculating costs this policy will cost the average household £14,700.
The CEBR study, 'Economic impacts of the 2030 - 2040 bans on the sale of fossil fuel vehicles', shows that the additional costs of the policy dwarf any environmental benefit, specifically:
Any benefits battery electric vehicles (BEVs) offer will also be vastly lower due to the emissions involved in vehicle production (see video below), mining for battery minerals (see video below) and shorter vehicle lifetimes (8.1 years for a BEV compared with 13.9 years for an ICEV) - once batteries are at the end of their useful life, the replacement cost will exceed the value of the vehicle so it will need to be scrapped, at huge environmental cost. Oh, and don't forget that dealers will not be interested in older electric vehicles, so forget selling or trading it in a few years time like you can an ICE vehicle. The study also forecasts a significant loss of tax revenue which can only result in higher rates of Tax or VAT, or cuts to essential public services.
MAG Chair, Neil Liversidge said: "This report shows the Government's proposal to ban internal combustion engined vehicles is utterly misguided, even if you accept the assumptions which they themselves have made, and without even getting into the environmental arguments. Millions of motorcyclists stand to lose their freedom to buy and ride a practical petrol-powered machine. The costs of this ban are orders of magnitude greater than any possible benefits. This is economic madness, a blight on civil liberties, and a threat to the UK's prosperity, our quality of life and national security. We call on Ministers to drop this disastrous policy immediately before it does any more damage."
The full CEBR report is available here
Battery electric vehicles are not the solution (and as the CEBR report proves, as a country, we simply can't afford it), but the government's insistence on zero emissions at the tail pipe is effectively forcing us down this route. Until an alternative offers the same range as fossil fuel, and the same speed and convenience of refuelling, anything else is a backward step. Oh, and don't forget that vehicle batteries contain Cobalt and Lithium which are rare metals and there simply isn't enough supply to satisfy demand if we are all forced into BEVs: What it takes to make an electric vehicle battery).
Please support this campaign, your chosen lifestyle very much depends on it !!!
Our 18th Post Christmas Auction will be held on Tuesday 31st January 2023. Our Post Christmas Auction's are the stuff of legends. The idea is you donate all your unwanted Christmas presents, together with other stuff you no longer want, or have the room for, to the Branch and we auction them off to the highest bidder .... with the proceeds split 2/3 to MAG and 1/3 to charitable causes. Check out the For Sale page for what items have already been donated and will be in the 2023 auction.
I hope to see you there. Be there early, with viewing from 07:00 onwards, and the auction starting at 08:00 prompt (and don't forget to bring your unwanted Christmas pressies and other stuff you no longer want, or have the room for !!!).
6) Wakefield MAG Annual General Meeting
The Wakefield & District Motorcycle Action Group Branch AGM will be held in the Thatched House, on Tuesday 17th January 2023, starting at 8:00pm (prompt). The AGM will be overseen/observed by Garry Timms, Yorkshire Region Treasurer. All members are invited to attend this special meeting, so please try to attend if you can. At this meeting there will be a review of the year, elections for the branch committee and the prize giving for our branch heroes. Meeting Agenda:
As this meeting is effectively a MAG political meeting, it carries with it a whopping 75 branch points for everyone who attends (a normal branch meeting only carries 5 points). As all the points are tallied at year end and go towards the branch heroes presentation, points really do mean prizes !!!! What better boost to your branch heroes tally for the new year !!!
The Annual Wakefield MAG mailshot was emailed or posted to all eligible Members last month, i.e. current MAG members with a WF postcode, to formally place notice for the meeting. The mailshot letter is also available Here
The meeting is also advertised in the events section on the main MAG website (www.mag-uk.org), and on our website events page.
Last years AGM minutes are available Here.
N.B. Motions for the AGM should be submitted at least the week before the AGM (Tuesday 10th January 2023).
Our Grand Christmas Raffle was drawn on Tuesday 13th December. There were 19 prizes in total up for grabs:
The top prize of the Luxury Christmas Hamper was won by Sally Johnson of Leeds MAG, who was absolutely delighted with her box of goodies.
The majority of the 19 prizes have been claimed except for 3 destined for York MAG, which will be delivered early in the new year.
The 2022 Christmas Raffle made a hefty profit of £203.01, all of which goes to the MAG fighting Fund - A huge thank you to everyone who bought and sold tickets!!!!
Ride safe, Ride like Tom ;-)
The confirmed dates for the Yorkshire MAG 2023 rallies are:
The branch will recieve it's allocation of tickets for sale at our weekly meetings early in the new year. Remember, if you buy your tickets from us you will save yourself some money (both on the booking fees (which are per ticket not per transaction !!!) and postage fees).
Owl with Laughter is back! Leeds and Bradford MAG's Comedy Night: Owl with Laughter returns on Tuesday 24th January from 19:30 to 23:00 at The Royal Hotel, 30 Station Street, Pudsey, LS28 8PR.
With a brilliant line up of Yorkshire acts (including the award winning comedy legend Silky) and MC'd as always by the Divine Patrick Devine this will be a fantastic night.
All profits will be shared between MAG and the British Heart Foundation. Tickets (£10) will initially be available at Leeds MAG meetings and from Leeds MAG at other events and also via the shop on the website: leeds.mag-uk.org/shop (£11 from the online shop as it includes postage for your tickets). Any remaining tickets will then go on sale in the pub later in the new year. Tasty sweet snacks will be on sale.
Due to the close proximity to the New Years Day Bank Holiday on Monday 2nd January 2023, there will be no branch meeting on Tuesday 3rd January 2023. Meetings for the new year will commence on Tuesday 10th January 2023, then every Tuesday thereafter, as normal.
We trialled a new format for our weekly meetings in 2022. For a good while now, the last Tuesday in the month would always be an organised social event whilst the others would all be business meetings. Now we have a business meeting on the first Tuesday of the month, a social meeting (generally just a chit chat and put the world to rights) on the second Tuesday, a business meeting on the third Tuesday and an organised social event on the fourth Tuesday (generally the last Tuesday in the month). This has worked well so we will be carrying on with this format in 2023. Please note, we still meet weekly and always will !!!.
If you have never been to a Wakefield MAG meeting or used to come in the past but haven't been for a while, we would love to see you. New (and Old) faces are always very welcome at our weekly meetings at 8:00pm at the Thatched House on Aberford Road, Stanley. Everyone is guaranteed a warm welcome, healthy debate, friendly banter and reasonably priced drinks. What more could you ask for !?!
Hope to see you at the Thatched House on a Tuesday in 2023 !!!
12) Forthcoming Events (for January and beyond)
Tuesday 10th January - First Wakefield MAG meeting of 2023 !!!
Back to normal after our Christmas and New Year break, with the first meeting of 2023 being on Tuesday 10th January, normal time of 20:00. This is also the last date to submit any motions for our AGM the following week - See Above.
Tuesday 17th January - Wakefield Branch 21st AGM - The branch will be 21 years old !!!!
See Above
Tuesday 24th January - Leeds and Bradford MAG's Comedy Night: Owl with Laughter
See Above
Tuesday 31st January - Post Christmas Auction
See Above
Got lots of unwanted Christmas presents ? Got items that are of use/value but you don't have the space for them any more ? Prepared to donate them for a good cause ? Bring them along to the Wakefield MAG 'Post Christmas Auction' where they will be raffled off to the highest bidder, with all the proceeds being donated to MAG and other worthy causes. 20:00 in the Thatched House.
Sunday 19th March - Wakefield Hospice 10K road race marshalling
Friday 28th - Sunday 30th April - Into the Valley (ITV) Rally
See Above. www.mapevents.co.uk
Friday 16th - Sunday 18th June - Farmyard Party (FYP) Rally
See Above. www.mapevents.co.uk
Friday 4th - Sunday 6th August - Yorkshire Pudding Rally (YPR)
See Above. www.mapevents.co.uk
See the events page for further details and more !!!
That's all for this month, hope to see you all soon.
Ride Safe .. Ride Free
Steve Travis
Chairman
Wakefield MAG
0772 078 4734
Wakefield MAG meet at the Thatched House, Stanley, Wakefield at 8:00pm every Tuesday. New (and Old) faces are always welcome.