Every rider knows SMIDSY—”Sorry Mate, I Didn’t See You.” That universal excuse when car drivers fail to notice motorcycles sharing the road. Now we’re facing SMIDSY Politics. And it’s about to destroy British motorcycling.
A Year of Political Blindness
It’s been 12 months since Labour took power. In that entire year, they’ve shown zero policy interest in motorcycles. Their silence screams that they believe car policy is the only transport policy that matters.
The 2024 election manifestos proved this perfectly:
- Labour: Zero mentions of motorcycles
- Liberal Democrats: Complete silence
- Green Party: No motorcycle policy despite banning all petrol vehicles by 2027
- SNP & Reform UK: Nothing
Only the Conservatives mentioned motorcycles—and that took 14 years of MAG lobbying to achieve. This proves that persistent campaigning works when we make ourselves impossible to ignore, but it also shows just how long political SMIDSY can persist. From everyone else? Pure political SMIDSY continues.
From Transport to Hobby—And Now to Nothing
Motorcycling wasn’t always a “niche hobby.” Decades of poor policy relegated what was once celebrated as affordable, sustainable transport into the margins. Now even that marginalised position faces extinction.
The ICE ban—designed for cars—will crush motorcycles like ants under a boot. Policymakers, blind to our existence, are steamrolling toward blanket bans without a moment’s thought for the consequences.
Consider the reality: Electric motorcycle sales remain tiny. Yet car-focused policies treat our market as identical to theirs. The Green Party’s 2027 ban would eliminate motorcycles entirely, but they won’t even acknowledge this because they haven’t considered it.
Meanwhile, promising alternatives—biofuels, synthetic fuels, hydrogen—get thrown out with the car policy bathwater.
It’s About More Than Transport
Here’s what policymakers in their clinical world of spreadsheets miss: motorcycling has a soul.
The rumble of an engine, the visceral connection between rider and machine—this isn’t nostalgia to dismiss. It’s fundamental to what makes motorcycling more than mere transport. The emotional attachment that sustained us through decades of neglect.
Battery-electric may satisfy transport needs, but it fundamentally diminishes the riding experience that defines motorcycling. When you eliminate the soul of something, you destroy what made it valuable.
We’re not apologising for this emotional connection—and policymakers shouldn’t ignore it.
Our Stand: No Mandates
We don’t oppose electric motorcycles when they meet riders’ needs. But we campaign for government staying out of our sector, allowing market-led progress instead of politically-driven destruction.
Any mandate will kill what remains of motorcycling without delivering the transport benefits Britain needs. The car industry can absorb regulatory shock—we cannot.
Break the SMIDSY Cycle
Road SMIDSY kills. Political SMIDSY is proving just as deadly.
But just as we make ourselves visible on roads through positioning and awareness, we can cure political SMIDSY too. The Conservative manifesto proves it’s possible—we just need more riders supporting the fight across all parties.
Riders Resistance Weekend: 5th and 6th July
This isn’t about party politics—it’s about survival. Every party needs to understand that motorcycles exist, riders vote, and our transport needs matter.
The next few years will decide our future: ICE phase-outs, ZEV mandates, infrastructure investment. These decisions will be made with or without our input.
We can’t afford another year of political SMIDSY. We can’t let policymakers keep looking right through us.
No more SMIDSY—on roads or in politics.
Your bike matters. Your voice matters. Your visibility matters.
Time to make them see us coming.
Find out more about Riders Resistance Weekend at mag-uk.org . Because just as we’ve learned visibility on roads, we must demand visibility in politics. The alternative is letting others decide our fate while we suffer political SMIDSY.