A minister just called you a Zombie

Yesterday Health Minister Simon Burns compared 38 Degrees members to zombies – for emailing our own MPs about risks to the NHS!

Have a look at a video clip of what he said about us all:

Minutes after Mr Burns spoke, 38 Degrees members started to respond:

– Sarah: So, anyone that disagrees with his policies and joins together in a democratic group to ask OUR representatives to represent us is ‘zombie-like’? Charming!
– Patrick: He finds us frightening due to the backtracks they’ve had to make recently (BSkyB, Forests, Mega Dairy). This just shows it’s working.
– Monika: Gosh, those politicians must hate the internet by now…the ‘plebs’ have a medium where they can raise their voices even after elections, it must be so annoying for them.
– Martyn: whereas MPs who slavisly follow the party line are full of life?

Add your comments below.

Let’s stand together to show Mr Burns that we’re citizens, not zombies. If thousands of us sign an open letter standing up for our right to be heard, we can publish it as an advert in a national newspaper and deliver it to Mr Burns personally in his constituency.

Add your name to the open letter to Mr Burns now.

It shouldn’t matter who you vote for or what opinion you hold. It’s still an MP’s job to listen to their voters. Our taxes pay their wages, after all!

38 Degrees has only been around for a couple of years. But already there are more than 950,000 of us. By working together we’ve helped change events for the better – like protecting our woodlands, stopping Rupert Murdoch, and standing up for our NHS.

It’s clear that when we work together, it rattles those in power – they’d rather we left them alone! They know that if enough of us stand together the days of politicians ignoring us and letting us down could be numbered.

So let’s tell Simon Burns we’re not zombies, we’re citizens standing up for what we believe in.

Here’s what other MPs are saying about Mr Burns’ comments:

Tim Farron MP, President of the Liberal Democrats, said: “I don’t think 38 Degrees members, or anyone else who takes the trouble to contact me, is a zombie. It’s a totally inappropriate way for an elected politician to talk about their voters. We should be encouraging people to get involved in the political process not insulting those who do.”

Stella Creasy MP, Labour, said: “Campaigning organisations like 38 Degrees are playing a useful role in energising Britain’s political process by encouraging the public to engage with their MPs – it’s up to us to then develop the debate and discussion they start with those we represent, either online or offline and whether we agree with them or not. Rather than calling people zombies and dismissing their concerns, ministers may wish to reflect on why their healthcare proposals have generated such a strong response from their constituents.”