Don't Leave your vote at Home! 

Each year, 200,000 British citizens move abroad to join 2.5 million British citizens who currently live overseas and are eligible to vote at the next General Election.

The Electoral Commission has just released figures showing that just 13,500 Brits living overseas are registered to vote – this is less than 1%.

We need your help!

We are trying to increase the number overseas voter registrations to give us the best possible chance of winning the next General Election – British citizens living abroad who have moved from your area could help you win seats.

www.conservativesabroad.org www.dontleaveyourvoteathome.com

Any British citizen who has lived outside of the UK for less than 15 years can vote in UK General and European Elections.

Visit Don’t Leave Your Vote At Home for more information

Access For All Update – Bill Wiggin Succeeds In Pressing For Leominster To Be A Priority

Following the success last month of his campaign to secure funding from the Access for All programme to make improvements at Leominster station, local MP Bill Wiggin is celebrating again after he persuaded the Government to treat these works as a priority. Following a request from Bill Wiggin, transport Minister Tom Harris MP has confirmed that the Government will ask that Network Rail begin work on Leominster towards the beginning of the 2012-15 period. A delighted Bill Wiggin said:

“This is another victory and again my thanks also go to our tremendous local campaigners. We have all campaigned very hard to get the Government to commit to spend money improving access at Leominster station and now they are going to also press Network Rail to complete the works as early as possible. This is wonderful news because we have all been patiently waiting a long time for these vital improvements.”

“Station users will also be pleased to hear that the improvements to access are likely to include step free access to both platforms, lifts and a new footbridge. I will continue to press Network Rail and the Government to carry out the necessary site survey as soon as possible so that the work plans can be finalised.”

Silent Stealth Bike on Test

“Would you like to test the Vectrix Electric Scooter? Environmentally friendly, clean, green, cheap to run” – Fantastic, how could I refuse?

The bike looks very modern and is surprisingly large, yet with tremendously simple controls. Turning the key does most things, like opening the seat lid where there is a yellow recharging wire which plugs the bike straight into a normal socket. Easy! I plugged it into a wall socket in the underground car park and charged up the bike, there was also plenty of room for your crash helmet and gloves.

Unusually, it even has a reverse gear which is helpful when squeezing it into a parking space. The other innovative feature which is really very impressive is the degenerative breaking. Twisting the throttle back not only slows the bike down but also charges up the battery. This makes breaking far less frequent and extends the range from a maximum 68 miles.

Truthfully, riding this bike is a bit spooky, there is no noise, there is little need to brake, there is no fuel and no foot controls. It is very, very easy.

The speed of the bike is a pleasant surprise. Actually it is fast enough to beat the “white van man at the traffic lights” test, which is why I am still alive. It will easily burn off any normal 125 moped. The acceleration bands are different to a petrol bike.  It seems slow up to 15 mph then it picks up to 20mph, but really shifts at around 30mph. Ok, it is not the stomach tightening, knee clenching experience when you twist the throttle of a road rocket sports bike and the beast leaps away with the front tyre barely stroking the tarmac – but the Vectrix does get going and the faster it moves the more comfortable and stable it feels. Oddly this is something of a dilemma, because for an inner city commuter bike you really want good low speed handling which makes it easy to put your feet down, loads of storage for luggage and wet weather kit.  It should also have a narrow beam to squeeze past cars whose drivers have forgotten that we drive on the left in this country…mostly.

The comfortable speed and handling made me want to test this on faster and longer distances than it was really made to do.

In town putting your feet down could be much easier. Correcting this problem is difficult for the designers because they have stored the batteries and engine under your knees to lower the centre of gravity, giving the sensation of stability when riding.

The Vectrix is an amazing design achievement. It really is a very good moped with zero emissions that is both fast and cheap to run. Sadly this kind of genius is not cheap and at £5897.87 on the road, it has lots of competitors. Again Vectrix has been clever by providing an environmentally sensitive package which deals with problems like replacement tyres over the life of the bike.

It does prove that it is possible to beat climate change, through innovation and technology. The challenge of providing aspirational solutions to combat current congestion, emission problems which will appeal to both Western and developing countries in the battle to prevent climate change will need more than Vectrix’s excellent PR and marketing skills. Manufacturers want a more environmentally supportive market for their product, just as Toyota did when it first created the Prius.

I enjoyed testing the Vectrix, it does what it promises and it does it well. While most bikes are already fuel efficient and do not congest, I believe there is a very promising market for this genuinely green, quiet, clever and effective innovation.

If by promoting Vectrix technology we can contribute to its success then perhaps it will encourage other innovators to test the market   We need more of these ideas if we are to have any chance of winning  the battle against dangerous climate change.