An e-bike ride with SNP ministers at this year’s conference

As I stepped out of Haymarket station in Edinburgh and walked up the road to the SNP conference the sun was out, and the weather looked good for the e-bike try-out sessions we were putting on for delegates and politicians.

The only storm clouds seemed to be within the Scottish National Party itself as they wrestled with the fallout of a shocking general election result where they lost 38 seats at Westminster.

As we were setting up our Cycling UK gazebo and arranging the e-bikes on the first morning of the conference, First Minister John Swinney was leading a closed session in the main auditorium for members to vent their frustrations about the election result.

With poor election results, financial scandals and changes in leadership, the unanswerable question in everyone’s minds is whether the SNP can turn the tide and win the next Scottish election or if the rise of Scottish Labour is now unstoppable.

The next election is due in May 2026 but reports in recent days put in doubt whether the SNP government will be able to get its next budget through Holyrood in the spring – if not it would trigger an early election.

In recent years the SNP has done much for cycling. We are now starting to see numerous new cycle routes in towns and cities due to positive strategies and year-on-year increases in the active travel budget.

The Scottish Government has also continued to support projects we run which enable people to cycle. This includes projects such as Connecting Communities and its predecessors which enable people to experience what its like to ride an e-bike and get advice on whether it’s for them.

Thanks to my colleague Scott emailing MSPs and MPs in the weeks before conference and using his design skills to create some fine flyers advertising the e-bike try-outs, we were able to listen to some politicians’ conversations in the conference venue and convince them to get on an e-bike.

The try-out sessions involved a short version of the ones we run for people coming to our project events, with the main aim being to ride an e-bike and experience the boost from the motor. Many people have heard of e-bikes but not had a chance to ride one or understand how it can make cycling easier while maintaining the beneficial active element of cycling.

Highlights for us were Maree Todd MSP, Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport, and Jenni Minto MSP, Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health, enjoying an e-bike ride with Scott around a public square behind the conference building – they were all smiles in the sunny weather.

Both ministers are already supportive of cycling and enjoyed hearing about the benefits that e-bikes can bring to people’s lives and the positive results that our projects are having in communities around Scotland. After having a great time on the e-bike both said they were keen to visit a Cycling UK project in the constituencies they represent.

We were also able to have useful conversations about the need to support cycling with Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop MSP, a few other MSPs and the SNP Leader in the Commons Stephen Flynn MP.

Politics is a fickle business – the political weather can change at any time and ministers come and go. After 17 years this could be the last year of an SNP government in Scotland or they could go on for years to come.

We try to build relationships with ministers and politicians from every party because they have the power to make or influence decisions which can affect the lives of everyday people. We want politicians to know who Cycling UK is, the great work we do to enable people to feel the benefits of riding a bike, and to understand this and support cycling in their roles.

Hopefully, the ministers and other delegates who had a ride on an e-bike at the conference will remember it fondly and take every opportunity to speak up in support of e-bikes and the benefits they bring to many people.