THE British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) has voted to cut ties with the Federation of European Motorcyclists’ Associations (FEMA), citing membership costs and wanting to focus on more UK-specific lobbying as the primary reasons.
The BMF has been going since the 1960s, and for much of that time, its view has been that Europe was the best place to be lobbying to improve the lives of riders in the UK. With Europe being the place where most legislation was created (until Brexit that is) it made sense to have some boots on the ground across the channel, and those boots were facilitated through FEMA.
Since Brexit though, that situation has changed, and while the UK government still want to align with EU legislation on a number of matters, the BMF feels that its time and money would be better spent lobbying here in the UK, directly to the groups that make the rules that affect us all.
The point on money is also a key one, and with FEMA membership costing a not-insignificant £ 12,000 a year, which the BMF advises is a third of its total lobbying budget, that money can be put to better use once the funds are freed up.
It’s not an instant divorce though, as is the way, and the BMF will continue under the FEMA banner until the 2024 AGM and BMF representatives will still be holding posts within the organisation until that time.
To find out more about this story, head to the BMF website where there is a full explanation of the decision.
