Nationally there were council elections in around half the country, and London elected both its Mayor and the London Assembly, which is broadly similar to a county council.

You'll know the result by now - overall there was an enormous sea change of political upheaval, with the government losing literally hundreds of council seats. And in London, twice elected Ken Livingstone was finally ousted by the amiable and popular Boris Johnson. If Mayor Boris does what he says then London will be a far better place to live, work and ride.

In case you're still interested, this is what we ran beforehand. It might make an interesting comparison read in a few months' time...

London elections are coming up fast. That may mean nothing to you, of course, because you may never have cause to visit London, let alone ride your bike here. But for a lot of people it matters a great deal. For some odd reason, the BBC and other political pundits tend not to concentrate on bikers and our needs when interviewing prospective political candidates. So we have done our best to redress that oversight by talking with them ourselves and looking at points that we think matter.

Now as these are elections for the Mayor of London, rather than a General Election, I'm inclined personally to think that the political party is rather less significant than the candidate themselves. Having said that, there are really only four candidates in with a serious chance, and those four represent the four largest political forces in the country - Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Green. There are others, of course, and if you feel we should approach them (or are in a position where you can ask them to approach us) then please feel free to tell us.

Broadly we had four areas we wanted to talk about. Congestion charging, particularly relating to bikes but let's face it, most of us drive as well; bikes using bus lanes and advance stop lines (the green bits in front of the main line at traffic lights, officially reserved for bicycles); parking and safety and anything else they may want to cover. The easiest way to get the ball rolling, it seemed, was by e-mail. So this is what the various candidates received (with a bit of preamble explaining who we are first):

"...I would be interested in your views regarding motorcycling, motorcyclists and powered two wheelers generally, but particularly in respect of congestion charging, bus lanes and ASLs, parking and safety. Obviously if there is anything else you would like to add then I’d be interested to hear that as well.

I am prepared to undertake to use your complete, unabridged statement without any editing whatsoever provided that you avoid blatant party political grandstanding and remain at least reasonably within context.

I intend to run the article in 2-3 weeks and will be inviting reader comment. If you would be interested in talking directly or even making use of our collective experience and expertise in forming and implementing policies regarding motorcycling and its place in London then I would be very interested..."

First up is Brian Paddick, the Liberal Democrats' candidate. Brian took an approach similar to other senior police officers we've featured here (he's ex Deputy Assistant Commissioner in the Met) and picked up the phone to me rather than replying in writing. Consequently the wording is mine, though he has confirmed that I'm not misquoting him.

Congestion charge. The clue should be in the name - it's a congestion charge, not an environmental charge. Though the original congestion charging zone would remain in place he would scrap the controversial Western Extension, arguing that the vast majority of residents were opposed to it and that the mayor should listen to the people he represents, and he would drop the proposed higher rate charge for more polluting cars. There is no way that he would levy a congestion charge on bikes because they don't cause congestion.

Bus lanes. There has been a pilot scheme running for some years, and the results of that scheme need to be looked at objectively. A bit of discussion about the pilot scheme brought out the suggestion that it wasn't particularly well implemented. For example, the stretch of road we discussed seems to have a risk of bikers getting swiped by cars turning left across the bus lane because drivers don't know that bikes can use it. Regardless, he feels that, providing some common sense and basic obedience of the bit in the Road Traffic Act which mentions due consideration for other road users are both in evidence, there is no reason why bikes shouldn't be allowed to use bus lanes as a matter of course. It must be, he suggests, safer than having to overtake or filter in the face of oncoming traffic.

Advanced Stop Lines got a similar treatment. Bikes are just about always quicker off the line than cars, so surely it makes sense to put them at the front where they can get out of the way most easily.

Bike parking is an interesting one. He pointed out that it's really quite easy to park a car in Central London these days, because there are plenty of empty bays. So some of those empty bays should be converted to bike bays instead.

Brian Paddick's bottom line, is that, if he is elected mayor, he would like to run London based on common sense and rational decision rather than political dogma. You can get the rest of his manifesto here

Next we'll hear from Boris Johnson, the Conservative candiate. Boris responded in writing, as one might reasonably expect from a well established journalist. His reply is quoted verbatim below, in line with my promise, though perhaps he sailed a little close to the wind with regard to overt political comment. But maybe not - the man is a politician and a serving MP after all, so perhaps we should congratulate him for being so restrained...

"The Mayor’s biggest area of responsibility is transport, and I intend  to put the commuter first by introducing policies that will first and foremost make journeys faster and more reliable. Motorcycling is an undervalued mode of transport that I would like to encourage. The Government have highlighted that the benefits of motorcycling over car travel include reduced congestion, easier parking, reduced emissions and shorter journey times.  Mayor Livingstone has ignored these recommendations and marginalised motorcyclists. I will act in the best interests of Londoners where he has failed to do so.

I will allow motorcycles to use bus lanes. All the Mayor’s evidence since he started his study in 2002 suggests that allowing motorcycles in bus lanes has major benefits for “vulnerable road users” - reducing collisions between, and reducing casualties of, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians by around 40% across the board.  Yet he has suppressed these reports for political reasons. He is scared to admit that I have got this right and he is intent on fiddling the figures to the detriment of Londoners.  I will also work closely with the boroughs to increase parking spaces for motorcycles.

The Congestion Charge is no longer proving an effective means to tackle congestion. The £25 per day penalty shows the Mayor has completely lost touch with Londoners. It will have a negligible effect on Co2 emissions and will actually increase congestion by allowing up to 10,000 extra vehicles per day to enter central London for free.  Ken Livingstone does not listen to Londoners when it comes to Road Pricing.  He ignored the results of the consultation on the Western Extension and I have pledged to right that wrong and hold a proper consultation to which my administration will be bound.

London's transport networks need a fresh approach..."

The rest of Boris' manifesto for London can be found here.

The UK Independence Party are fielding a candidate as well. Gerard Batten may not be as well known or have generated the levels of publicity that his rivals have achieved, but he's not shy about stating his opinion.

The UKIP transport policy would see congestion charging scrapped completely, would make parking easier for everyone by placing restrictions on the basis of safety and security rather than on revenue generation and would attempt to produce an integrated, co-ordinated traffic management system. He would also seek to ditch bus lanes as they stand, replacing them with Express lanes for buses, taxis, multi occupancy cars and, crucially, motorbikes.

He would also look at combining parking enforcement with road tax enforcement - leave your car or bike parked up untaxed and expect to get it clamped - as well as a raft of other, non bike related transport issues. He didn't give me an especially comprehensive reply but at least he did give me a reply, which is more than could be said for a few others.

You can find out more about his policies as a Mayoral candidate here.

At the time of writing, The Green Party have failed to respond to any of my e-mails. Which may well speak volumes about the regard with which they hold the opinions, interests and concerns of a large group of Londoners.

The BNP had an opportunity to respond as well. Like them or not, and I appreciate that many of you may not, they do offer an increasingly attractive alternative to certain areas of the community and as such they qualified as being mainstream enough to ask them for comment. They have also chosen not to do so. Or perhaps they are too busy. Who knows.

Interestingly, neither of these parties has anything vaguely relating to a transport policy on their Mayoral Election websites. I mean nothing even close. So I suppose it's possible that they haven't replied because they don't actually have a transport policy. But if either of them would like to contact me and explain why I'm mistaken in my cynicism then I will be happy to publish their statement in full and unedited, just as I have for the others.

There's another notable omission, too. The current Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has also failed to comment. Although an exceptionally well mannered gentelman from his office did assure me that there would be a statement forthcoming in the next few days. As did an equally pleasant young lady who contacted me a couple of days later and again assured me I'd have a response last week. I haven't had any answers, of course. And there wasn't last time either. Or the time before. This is the third mayoral election that Mr Livingstone has simply ignored a perfectly reasonable request. Which, as a London based organisation, I find rather annoying. Particularly as he has ignored every other request for comment I've sent him as well. Perhaps this in itself is a reflection of Mr Livingstone's tenure as mayor - strong on promises and flannel but a little light on actual delivery. Or perhaps I'm being unfair.

His website has a wealth of transport stuff, of course, and it doesn't make comfortable reading. He opposes bikes using bus lanes, despite evidence suggesting that it's a potential life saver. He is talking about further expansion of the congestion charging zone and increased charges for some vehicles. There are rumours that he wants to introduce congestion charging for bikes bigger than 250cc "because you don't need anything bigger in London" but I can't find out if they have any basis because he won't respond to my enquiries.

Again, if you work for the Mayor or have any influence with him then please get him to respond so that I can publish his comments, unedited, for the education of our fellow Londoners.

We go to the polls on 1st May 2008, ladies and gentlemen. The London Mayor has an enormous effect on our lives in general and our riding and driving in particular. So please, take the time to form an opinion and then get out there and use your vote!

SB