General election goes full throttle

REMEMBER potholes at the polls and bus lanes at the ballot box, a group of motoring moguls has said this week after launching their own election manifesto.

The team behind motoring website motors.co.uk have canvassed drivers fed up with some of Britain's most annoying roadside problems, and are reminding all the political parties to remember the motorist vote when the country goes to the polls tomorrow (Thursday, May 6, 2010).

“Motorists across the UK are fed up with being ignored by politicians and a Motorists Manifesto would make sure the needs of UK motorists are heard by all political parties,” said Katie Wardle, Marketing Manager at motors.co.uk.

“Issues such as scrappage, fuel tax and the appalling state of the nations road network are real areas of concern for motorists and the political party that offers a fair deal for motorists and addresses these issues will attract significant support.”

Not surprisingly the price of petrol - as high as £1.23 a litre in some parts of Sefton and West Lancashire - was one of the big issues with the region's motorists, as well as proliferation of potholes caused by the severe winter weather earlier this year. But surprisingly high on the political agenda of motorists was a call for smoking to be banned in all cars including private vehicles for the first time, with over 67 per cent of motorists surveyed by the website backing the ban.

The website's research, carried out in March and April, also revealed that over 84 per cent of motorists would support the reintroduction of the governments scrappage scheme which saw an additional 330,000 new cars sold before the scheme ended last month.

The motorist vote has played a key role in several past general elections, with the Labour party openly targeting 'Mondeo Man' during their 1997 election campaign.