It seems that my information, based on events in 2012, is now obsolete. Apparently the politicians did a face-saving about turn and pretended that the original plan was to exempt old cars from the MOT or equivalent. That is a lie, it is not what they intended at all, but for now we seem to be fairly safe, given that Brexit should be happening and the UK has a higher percentage of GDP derived from classic and modified cars than just about anywhere else. The political fallout of all the job losses would have been unacceptable, and there is no suggestion that the UK government was against classic cars in any way. (Low emission zones are another problem altogether....)
But there were scumbags involved, who are still there, working against what they purport to represent, and that is the international organisation FIVA, who aim to keep all classic cars truly original. Our British FBHVC is clearly on our side.
I do apologise for getting this wrong. Last I heard was that the new arrangements were already in place in Germany and a couple of other countries. Then I went into hospital, and must have missed the plan falling flat on its face.
But watch out for Mercedes and their cronies. They make a fortune from making "genuine" spares (possibly of entirely different material, such as asbestos-free brake pads, illegal under the proposed legislation, while asbestos is rightly illegal) for their older and mediocre vehicles. They really do not like parts to be substituted by modern equivalents, and the motivation is pure profit, nothing to do with road safety. They do have the ear of many EU politicians, however their influence here is somewhat less.
I am wondering if the law as it now stands in the UK means that the requirement for an IVA test as a result of certain modifications is actually illegal. Only a lawyer would understand the mess of opposing legislation. But I think that the Australian process is what we need anyway, a competent engineer having to approve all major modifications. Bye-bye flip fronts, excessive lowering, and all the other safety-undermining excesses of incompetent modifications by unskilled people.
It would also make sense for all safety critical parts to have to be type approved. Bye-bye the purveyors of sub-standard wheel bearings for a start.