MP joins Ride to Work Day to promote British exports

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, MP for The Cotswolds, travelled to work at the House of Commons in a sidecar on Monday 18th June as part of the Ride to Work Day celebrations.  Ride To Work Day is an international opportunity for motorcycle and scooter riders around the world to share the enjoyment of their daily commute and Geoffrey was invited to participate by Watsonian sidecars, Britain's only remaining major manufacturer of sidecars, who are located in the MP's constituency in the Heart of England.

“Not only is Geoffrey Clifton-Brown our MP, he's also a champion of British manufacturers like us, who export their products, so this is a great opportunity to raise the profile of Great British sidecars” explains Watsonian sales director Ben Matthews, who drove the outfit.

“Watsonian celebrates its centenary this year and not many companies in the British motorcycle industry can make that claim” he continues.  “We've survived two world wars, the Great Depression of 1929  and a devastating fire that destroyed our factory in 1930.  Today exports account for half of our production, with strong sales to Japan, Germany and France, so it's vital that the Government does all it can to support British manufacturing.”

The sidecar in which Geoffrey rode is a Watsonian Wizard, powered by a Royal Enfield 500cc motorcycle, based on the combinations that the factory supplied for the filming of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which appeared in the spectacular chase sequence in which Harry Potter flees from the Death Eaters in a sidecar outfit driven by Hagrid. 

“Ever since I first visited Watsonian Squire a number of years ago and discovered what an effective exporting company they were I have been a great supporter of theirs” says Geoffrey Clifton-Brown. 

“We had about a 3/4 of an hour trip in from Putney” explains Geoffrey. “It's been a wonderful experience.  You see things that you wouldn't normally see in a car.  I think this is a great way to travel.”

Watsonian will be hosting a centenary celebration rally at Stoneleigh Park near Coventry on 18th-19th August 2012.  For more information on this and Watsonian's current range of sidecars and details of the centenary rally call 01386 700907 or visit watsonian-squire.com.