Well this is an odd story - not only do Bury drivers seem to have a bee in their bonnet about what would be considered a bog standard vehicle testing regime elsewhere, now it's claimed that the whole thing swung the general election result there
Wasn't sure whether to tack this on to the stuff about the testing, or to put it in the politics section, but think I've read enough about the inspection regime for the meantime
But as well as the whole testing/plate size thing probably a bit exaggerated and probably just a few hotheads rather than the whole trade up in arms, I suspect the stuff below is a bit overdone, too.
And the stuff at the end about precisely who is representing who is perhaps instructive, and even Charlie Boy is getting het up about who exactly he's representing
Nearly everyone, by the looks of it
Did taxi drivers swing the Bury North General Election vote?https://www.burytimes.co.uk/news/183000 ... tion-vote/
Image: Bury TimesTAXI drivers in Bury have been at loggerheads with the Labour-run council for months. Local Democracy Reporter JOSEPH TIMAN looks at how decisive their lobbying was at the General Election last year. 'HUNDREDS' of taxi drivers helped swing the General Election result in Bury North where the Conservatives won by the tightest margin in Great Britain, trade representatives claim.
Members of Bury Private Hire Drivers' Association (PHDA) rallied behind the Tories saying they were fed up of Labour who were "not listening" to them.
Labour-run Bury Council has now taken steps to address the drivers' concerns over safety, "onerous" vehicle inspections and "unfair" fees.
Concerned cabbies have been attending council meetings for months telling councillors about their concerns including targeted attacks such as one case in which stones were thrown through a window, narrowly missing a man's head.
Image: Bury TimesBury Council has now changed its policy requiring a smaller taxi licence plate on the front of vehicles in the hope that they cannot be spotted from a distance.
The Bradley Fold taxi testing station also reopened in January after a devastating fire left cabbies having to travel to Bolton for their vehicles to be tested.
But these measures may have come too late for Labour who lost the marginal Bury North seat which the Conservatives clinched by just 105 votes.
Bury PHDA secretary Muhammad Sajjad told the Bury Times that "hundreds" of taxis drivers and their families switched their votes to the Tories after a targeted campaign aimed predominantly at the Asian community in Labour strongholds of Redvales and East ward.
Shaf Mahmood, a former UKIP candidate who also belongs to the association, claims the number of those who switched their votes as a result of their efforts is between 1,400 and 1,700.
He said: “With taxi drivers not treated fairly by the Bury Labour-run Council, the taxi drivers decided to go to somebody that will actually look after them because at the end of the day, it’s our safety and the customer’s safety. We think we will get help from the Conservatives for the safety issues of the taxi drivers.
“As an MP he will lobby the council for us hopefully and get these safety issues installed. Because the safety of any customer or a driver is very, very important to us taxi drivers in Bury because passenger safety comes first. So we are hoping James Daly can help us in providing us those facilities where we can help the customer be safe in our cars in the night.
"Most of us taxi drivers will be voting for the Conservative Party. And it’s the same for the local elections.”
James Daly, who won the seat in Bury North, pledged to be a proactive MP who supports cabbies' calls for MOT stations in Bury, including approved private sector testing centres.
The newly-elected MP, who is still a councillor for North Manor, also said Transport for Greater Manchester should provide funding for all taxi drivers to upgrade their vehicles to meet the incoming Clean Air Zone requirements.
He said: “I have promised to be an advocate for the profession and to campaign for improvements, allowing drivers to have the best chance to make a decent living and support their families. The same promise I made to all Bury North residents and businesses, that I would do everything possible to help them to thrive and succeed. I have no idea how many taxi drivers voted for me but they may have been motivated by the fact they have been ignored by Labour politicians in Bury for many years and wanted change, like many other voters in Bury North.”
Ex-MP James Frith, who lost Labour's seat in Bury North, was contacted for comment.
Labour councillor Tamoor Tariq, first deputy leader of the council, accused Bury PHDA of "political point scoring".
He said: "The general election was close fought as it was in many constituencies across the country. For individuals to claim without concrete and hard evidence they influenced the result one way or the other is unwise, unless they were directly involved in intimidation and manipulation as some people reported to use during the General Election.
"The taxi driver trade is one that I respect immensely and they make a significant contribution to our borough, however I know many people from the taxi trade including family friends who made their own choices and decisions at election time.
“Bury licensing committee only in January passed a number of measures, to help and support the trade given they had been raising concerns with us over some time. This includes smaller plates, and rule changes around tinted windows. I find it quite hypocritical for members of the Conservatives to talk cheaply at election time around taxi driver issues, but it is the Conservative Party who have decided not to attend licensing committee now for a number of months and as I understand will continue not to attend. Talk is cheap, deeds and actions say far more."
Bury Council licensing officers have said that Bury PHDA has not provided evidence of who it represents and on what terms.
This came after the group submitted a representation about the council's new vehicle inspection policy claiming the comments were made on behalf of 647 members of the association.
Licensing unit manager Angela Lomax told the secretary of PHDA that the council does not require personal details of individuals, just numbers and the terms and conditions in which the association acts for its members.
But Charles Oakes, chairman of the Hackney Drivers' Association, told the licensing safety panel that his organisation is responsible for the private hire drivers too.
Image: Bury TimesHe said: “These gentlemen are under my umbrella. I’m not being told who I can and can’t have in my association. I have many across the North West association. I take single membership. I have 2,000 in Preston, Chorley, Wigan, all over. I will take any association on. It’s totally legal, it’s totally above board and I won’t have the chair of this committee telling me who I can’t have."
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