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We need to strike while the iron's hot. The next general election is not very far away, and that means we will soon be in a position of immense power, to put it mildly. There are approximately 30million drivers in Britain. It is therefore no exaggeration to say that motorists are in a position to decide who runs the country for the next four or five years. That delicious, almost frightening clout is in our hands.

Auto Express Car Reviews

07th April 2004

At the next poll, things are going to be different. The major political parties won't have to spend a moment thinking about their own motoring and transport strategies and policies and putting them down on paper because you and I will do that for them. With your help, I will be writing Mike's Motoring Manifesto. It will contain scores, perhaps hundreds of no-nonsense proposals which I expect the incoming Government to implement within one term of office.

I will personally drive to the headquarters of each of the major parties, deliver individual copies of Mike's Manifesto and ask for a tick or a cross against each proposal. They'll all have 28 days to come up with their yes/no answers to all the points, and there will be no opportunity for fence-sitting by giving pathetic 'don't know' responses.

When the 28 days are up I'll be going back (by car) to collect the responses from the parties in question. Then, I'll be revealing that Party X, for example, liked 66 per cent of the ideas and disliked 34 per cent; Party Y liked 50 per cent and disliked 50 per cent; and that Party Z repeatedly refused to acknowledge or respond to Mike's Motoring Manifesto and is therefore deemed to dislike 100 per cent of the proposals.

The results of the exercise will be desperately easy for everybody - even politicians - to understand and the true commitment of the parties towards car owners will be revealed. And, armed with the enthusiastic reactions or utter contempt the parties show towards the Manifesto, you'll at least have an insight into the attitude and intentions of the respective politicians towards car users - before you cast your vote in the general election.

What I need from you are some Motoring Manifesto suggestions which will be added to mine and those of Daily Mirror readers, as well as Motorists' Association members, talkSport radio listeners and Men and Motors and ITV Pulling Power viewers. This is also a time for the motor industry, one of the biggest employers in Britain, to join forces with its workers and customers and tell the future Government exactly what needs to be done to make driving more enjoyable, safer, accessible and cost effective.

Your suggestions can be as simple or as detailed as you like, but from experience I've learned that rambling, beautifully presented theories are often less useful than brilliant one-liners. Regardless of how ambitious your suggestions are, please send them to me, either by E-mail at m.rutherford@mirror.co.uk or write to Mike's Motoring Manifesto, Auto Express, 30 Cleveland Street, London W1T 4JD. Please include a contact phone number and address.