Thousands sign petition to axe classic car scrappage
A new petition seeks to make it illegal for historic vehicles to be processed through scrappage schemes. It’s already had thousands of signatures, and supporters are now looking forward to a Government response…
The petition was launched by Danny Hopkins, editor of Practical Classics, who is worried that classic cars are still at risk from future scrappage schemes.
Posted on the petition.parliament.uk website, its aim is to “make it illegal for manufacturers to process vehicles which have Historic Vehicle on their V5 documents through any scrappage scheme”.
The petition already has well over the 10,000 signatures that are required to force a Government response.
And with a deadline of 21 June 2018, there are still three weeks to go to reach the magic figure of 100,000 signatures that could trigger a parliamentary debate on the issue.
Clear message
Hopkins said: “This petition sends a very clear message to Government that we will not stand by and see our road heritage destroyed for the sake of a few quid off a new car. Let’s help debunk the lie that scrapping vehicles before they have reached their ‘end of life’ is environmentally friendly. Owning and keeping a classic going is the greenest activity there is.”
MPs’ support
Sir Greg Knight MP, chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Historic Vehicles Group, is a strong and influential supporter of the petition.
“I’m not in favour of scrappage schemes anyway,” he said, “and I fully support the idea to ban scrapping cars of historical interest. When a car is scrapped the V5 documents are checked so I don’t think it would be particularly difficult to implement. I look forward to seeing what the Government response is.”
Clubs’ role
Mike Maher of the Rover Sports Register is also keen to save all vehicles of historic interest from the scrappers’ yard. Maher commented, “Even with cars that can’t be restored, the clubs should at least be given the chance to save the parts. If the car is in working order, there’s no question – it should be saved from being scrapped.”
TR Register's head of press relations, Wayne Scott, also added, "We're losing our car heritage for the sake of some money off a new car, so we are supportive of anything that keeps classics on the roads."
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