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James Duddridge on car registration plates

James_duddridgeJames Duddridge, MP for Rochford & Southend East, introduced a Ten Minute Rule Bill in the Commons today, to relax the rules on personalised car registration plates.

He told ePolitix.com:

"Speaking to the police there are issues of number plate recognition and I thought it was ironic that we weren't allowed to have for example ESSEX, but you were allowed E55EX, and surely using the proper words such as JAMES or ESSEX makes it more memorable and easier to recognise."

Mr Duddridge says that the sale of personalised registration plates raised over £86million for the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in 2007/08. In the event of his bill being successful, he expects the DVLA to earn well over £100million in the first year:

"It will raise money, it’s deregulatory and there aren't that many things in life you can do that everyone is in agreement on, raises money and doesn't cause too many problems."

Speaking to ConservativeHome, Mr Duddridge said that his bill had the support of a number of former Transport ministers, and that Jim Fitzpatrick, current Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, promised he is considering the proposal seriously.

He added that far from being a bill just for the rich, liberalising the law to enable people to spend £300,000 on a registration plate will act as a "voluntary tax" which will raise large sums for the Treasury.

All that's left to add is the following message to Mr Duddridge:

G00D LUK

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