Snooping: campaign update

Here are some great photos 38 Degrees members have sent in over the last few months of their meetings with local MPs. Take a look!

38 Degrees members organised the meetings to give their local MP a copy of the petition against government snooping and explain to them why why we want them to oppose the government’s plans to invade our privacy.

From Dundee to Penzance, more than 70 hand-ins took place all over the country!  Here’s a map showing everywhere a government snooping petition hand-in took place…

Loads of 38 Degrees members found MPs ready to listen:

• “We were treated politely and patiently on the day and sent a detailed 2 page letter a week or two later” Peter Struik, Sutton on Paul Burstow MP (Lib Dem)
• “She was welcoming, engaged and seemed genuinely interested in our campaign. She invited us to keep sending her information that she was able to present to her colleagues at the parliament.” Afreen Huq, Bethnal Green on Rushnara Ali MP (Labour)
• “We got listened to seriously…We had a 30 min discussion with John Randall MP, and a photo shoot on the balcony at Parliament. We all appreciated his advice regarding how to strengthen our campaign by asking technical experts to share their knowledge of the Bill’s deficiencies as they saw them.” Chris Clark Gold, Uxbridge on John Randall MP (Conservative)

This week, all this fantastic campaigning by 38 Degrees members was recognised by Liberty, with a ‘Human Rights Campaigner of the Year Award’ for 2012, jointly awarded to 38 Degrees and Open Rights Group.

But there’s still a long way to go…

Right now, an official committee of MPs is preparing a report that might put a stop to the government’s plans. If the report says the government’s plans are flawed, it could make it hard for the government to push ahead. It could be a major chance to push the government to bin the idea altogether!

Do you have any ideas about what we could do together next in the campaign to protect our privacy online?  It’d be great if you could add any comments or suggestions below.