'We won't be bullied': Hundreds of angry taxi drivers descend on Northampton town centre to protest against council

Hundreds of angry taxi drivers based in Northampton descended on the town centre protesting against a new policy proposed by the council.

The App Drivers and Couriers Union (ACDU) has criticised WNC’s Draft Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Policy 2023, which is currently out for public consultation until March 26.

Taxi drivers who are members of the ACDU took to the streets of Northampton town centre at 10.30am on Thursday (February 23) to voice their anger.

The council says the new policy focuses on improving driver standards; strengthening the "fit and proper person" test; a more rigorous convictions policy; mandatory safeguarding training; spoken English testing; and driving standards training.

Councillor David Smith, cabinet member for community safety and engagement, and regulatory services, said: “The key purpose of this new draft policy is to keep passengers in private hire vehicles and taxis safe.

“A huge amount of work has gone into devising an approach which levels the playing field for drivers and operators across West Northamptonshire.

“We engaged with drivers and operators as part of the process, and this is now out for consultation, which is the most appropriate route for anyone to offer their views and suggestions.

“The licensing team is more than happy to speak with any further taxi and private hire drivers and operators, and representatives acting on their behalf as part of the consultation process, and we would urge them to contact us [email protected] to make arrangements for that.”

The Chronicle & Echo went down to the protest to speak to drivers and ADCU bosses.

ADCU President Yaseen Aslan said: “The way the policy is drafted is to punish a certain group of workers, which is the driver community. The worst thing about this is drivers were never invited to the table when the council was drafting these policies.

"It’s these drivers that contribute a big chunk of money into the council through licensing, and it’s these drivers out there that keep the town moving, we saw this through the pandemic.

"What it comes down to is the council sitting on the table with the workers and try to get the best policy that works for the public and for the drivers. That’s fair. But at the moment it’s completely one-sided.

"What you see here is just the start of something. We’re going to keep coming back again and again. We’re going to win this fight. We’re confident. We’ve done it across many cities. We’re quite militant. We know what we need, we know what we’re fighting for. And we will continue fighting until we win.”

Mr Aslan explained a potential situation which could arise from the new policy.

He said: “For example, you have migrant workers who come here as asylum seekers, let’s say they come from Afghanistan running away from the Taliban. They will now have to go back home to their country for a certificate of good conduct. The last thing you would want to do is go into a police station run by the Taliban asking for that. That’s what’s going to happen if we have this policy. The council has not thought about it.”

A Somalian driver who has been working in the town for years said the policy is “‘ridiculous”.

He said: “It’s ridiculous. It would be dangerous. Why make me spend so much? Why make me go so far? What’s the need for that? I’m a human being. I’ve gone through the system to get this job. DBS checked. Trained, professional driver.

"I’m feeling the council are thinking how they can make life difficult for the drivers in Northampton. They’re pushing and pushing it."

Another driver, named Irfan, who has been working in the town for 10 years, says he is “outraged”.

Irfan said: “I’m outraged. The main purpose of being here is to tell WNC that we won’t be bullied anymore. We’ve had enough. They can’t even fix the roads and they want to fix taxi drivers. Leave us alone. We’re not kids. Those that are not following the rules, you catch them and deal with them. But don’t tar everyone with the same brush. We’re not having it.

“I’m sick and tired of these potholes. Where does my money go when I’m paying road tax? Why you not fixing my roads? You messed up the market. You messed up the town. And all you can ever think and see is taxi, taxi, taxi.”

Abdul Muhit, a private hire driver of nine years, gave his two cents on the issue.

He said: “There’s about 1,000 taxi drivers in Northampton. It’s a good turnout but it could be stronger. The amount of people rely on taxis. There will be no taxis. This needs to be stopped completely. We don’t mind legislation, we like legislation. But they need to liaise with us, not against us.”

Shafqat Shah, Northampton Chair of ADCU said: "The council’s proposed new rules for our trade are ill thought out and represents a missed once in a generation opportunity to markedly improve safety and quality of the trade for drivers and passengers. Instead of focusing on what matters most for the future of the trade, the council appears to instead have made it a priority to shield bad minicab bosses from worker rights claims while putting safety on the back burner.”

Click here to view the 150-page policy.