Epic fail

Too many cycle activists bang on about how they want drivers to give them the same space they'd give a car but then they are happy to filter through traffic, skimming wing mirrors etc. They want the space of a car when it suits them and to be as small as a bicycle when that suits them. It should be law that before you post a youtube video or a blog post about how cars give you no room etc that you ride around with a frame like that for a week and see how frustrating it'd be to be the size of a car.

Disagree completely.

Filtering is perfectly legal on a motorbike, same principle applies.

When filtering (either undertaking, overtaking or splitting lanes) you're accepting it is a risky activity (and you're likely to come off worse in an accident with a car), but when riding normally along the road you should have the space suggested by the HWC.

(I'm not that black and white about it, I'll happily filter down the left of queuing traffic - away from junctions, depending on lights and plenty of other variables - with a speed differential of 10mph or so, but I won't get upset if those same cars I've filtered past go past me again without pulling clear into the next lane, most of them will give me more space when overtaking me again anyway. If I didn't want them to overtake me as closely then I wouldn't be overtaking them in the first place, and I'd be in primary to make them move over to get past me.)

When filtering I'm choosing to participate in the risky activity, with close overtakes I have no choice, and can't do much to prevent it.