Since no-one else is going to post it, I'll have to do it myself :-)
The following, much edited by the paper, appeared in the Thursday edition of
the Bristol Evening Post. For those of you who haven't read Hansard, Jean
Corston MP, was thanked by fat Eric (Martlew) for all her work behind the
scenes.
"I was astonished to find that a local MP, Jean Corston, had provided
support for Eric Martlew's misguided child cycle helmet Bill. Mr Martlew
could at least plead ignorance, he didn't even know that his own Government
had set a body to promote cycling, but Mrs Corston has no such excuse.
Mrs Corston tried five years ago to bring in just such a law, but was forced
to drastically amend her proposals when it was pointed out that the
organisation promoting the Bill, the Bicycle Helmet Initiative Trust, did
not tell the truth.
Mr Martlew's Bill was promoted by the same organisation, using the same mix
of exaggeration, untruths and appeals to emotion, and it is shocking that
Mrs Corston fell for them again.
During the debate, Mr Martlew suggested that the CTC, the national cycling
organisation, should change its leadership, presumably because they were so
easily able to refute his arguments with the facts.
If I was a constituent of Mrs Corston, I would be asking myself whether I
wanted to change a leader who is gullible enough to fall for the same
nonsense twice.
We all make mistakes, and to be taken in by the very persuasive conmen of
BHIT is no disgrace, but to be taken in twice must cast doubt on Mrs
Corston's abilities.
Perhaps the Po s t could ask Mrs Corston two questions: why has no helmet
law anywhere shown any reduction in risk to cyclists, and why, when a law
identical to that proposed by Mr Martlew was passed in Alberta, deaths and
injuries to child cyclists doubled?
I look forward to reading her response.
Richard Burton, Little Stoke, Bristol.
--
cheers
Rich