UKIP London Chairman addresses Westminster Bike Charge Protest on the steps of City Hall itself

On March 31st, Westminster City Hall was the scene of a mass protest at a new Tory Stealth Tax, exactly the sort of thing which David Cameron tries to claim the Conservative are opposed to. Westminster City Council, supposedly a Tory flagship borough, has recently tried to sneak in a charge on Motorbike Parking on the very doorstep of the Houses of Parliament (where Cameron tries to make these untenable claims), under the auspices of an 'experimental' scheme they claim provides a 'better service and more capacity for motorbike parking'. However, the very legality of the scheme was called into question last night at a Public Oversight committee meeting and over 1500 motorcyclists turned up to express their feelings.

Ironically, this scheme flies in the face of Tory Mayor Boris Johnson's stated claim that he wants to move Londoners 'from four wheels to two' but then when have the Tories ever managed to get agreement amonst themsleves on anything? Just look at their position(s) on Europe, for example!

UKIP London Chairman Paul Wiffen, who is the PPC for Westminster if Gordon ever calls a General Election, attended the hearing along with the tireless London Regional Organiser, Lawrence Webb, the latest addition to MEP Candidates List for London on June 4th. You can see them above outside Westminster City Hall with the protest organiser Warren Djanogly who had persuaded the Council to examine the legality as well as the desirability of the scheme. On exiting the committee hearing, Paul was invited to address the protesters to let them know how their case was being presented in the committee chamber and you can witness the warm reception he received below.