Austin Sevens in Parliament

[Martin Baker]

Is this the first time Austin Sevens have been mentioned in Parliament?

Sarah Gibson's maiden speech (Dave Williams wife). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBHRaOhYD9E

Hopefully a worthy old car enthusiast successor to Peter Butler!

[Nick Salmon]

Well done Sarah. As I have commented on the clip - she has managed to immortalise the A7 in the pages of Hansard.

[Charles P]

Is this the first time Austin Sevens have been mentioned in Parliament?

Sarah Gibson's maiden speech (Dave Williams wife). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBHRaOhYD9E

Hopefully a worthy old car enthusiast successor to Peter Butler!

I'm sure if you go far enough back through Hansard you'll find a Seven mentioned.
Sarah will be a great advocate for old cars in Westminster, and not just Sevens

[Mike Costigan]

Just to put the record straight, Lucien Rosengart produced an electric Seven sixty years before David's conversion!

[bystander]

Sarah has not been too well of late, but is now on the slow path to recovery and continues to serve her Constituents with a passion, and as always lives and breathes all things motoring.

[Colin Cooke]

Hi All,

I may be wrong, but when the under 7hp tax bracket was introduced, wasn't the Austin 7 named as being one of the cars intended to benefit from the lower rate?
The unfortunate thing, as we all know, was that the Austin 7 was over 7hp. I feel that my Dad sent letters to try to correct this (in the 1950s?), and would I be right in saying that this was eventually successful?
I'm sure someone out there will know the true story.

Regards,
Colin

[Robert Leigh]

I think that when the A7 was introduced with smaller cylinders giving 696 cc its RAC hp rating was below 7. Presumably its performance was slightly more pedestrian, and the decision was made to improve performance with a larger cylinder bore.

[Colin Morgan]

It seems that Austin Sevens have been mentioned in Hansard before. For example, this is from a Petrol Allowances debate in the Commons on Thursday 11 December 1947:

"Commander Noble asked the Minister of Fuel and Power when it is expected to make a decision on the request for a supplementary petrol allowance for Austin Seven, AVL 276, which was forwarded to the Parliamentary Secretary on 30th October.

Mr. Robens replied that an interim issue of coupons has been made pending a detailed assessment of the application."

And this from the House of Lords on Speeding debated on Thursday 25 April 2002:

Viscount Allenby of Megiddo: "My Lords, a number of noble Lords will remember the days after the Second World War when cars were in short supply, the Austin 7 and the Morris 8 were fashionable and how pleasant and quiet the countryside was. As we move into the 21st century every day of the week we put up with traffic congestion and late-running railways.

A fact of life is that there is more and more traffic. Nowadays, instead of families having just one car and being grateful for that, they have two or sometimes three and they have 4x4 cross-country vehicles that never go across country."

And from Mr. Peter Butler (Milton Keynes, North-East) in a 1995 debate on Vehicle Excise Duty:

"I am grateful to the president of the House of Commons Motor Club, otherwise known as Madam Speaker, for permitting me my first Adjournment debate. I should also like to thank others who have raised with me, and supported, the concerns expressed about changes to the rules on vehicle excise duty, in particular, my hon. Friend the Member for Derby, North (Mr. Knight), whom I thank not only because he is a well-known old car enthusiast but because he is the Conservative deputy Chief Whip. I therefore feel that it is tactful to mention him.

I declare a number of non-pecuniary interests as a member of the Vintage Sports Car Club; honorary legal adviser to the Bentley Drivers Club; a member of the 750 Motor Club and as one of two Members of Parliament who is eligible to hold an international race licence. I also declare a rare victory for Conservatives—the winning of something—in the London to Brighton run last year, which is not, of course, technically a race, when I was the guest of the president of the Veteran Car Club in a 1900 Stevens Dogcart. My final interest is that after 34 years of assiduous graft, I have gone from having one Austin Seven, which was given to me on my 10th birthday, to being the proud owner of two Austin Sevens."

[Ruairidh Dunford]

David Steel also owned an Austin Seven and was a regular attendee at the Doune Rally in the 1970s and 80s.

Peter Butler attended our 40th anniversary celebrations with his Speedy - one of the few cars on show at the first ScA7C rally ever.