Nov 29th, 2013
Gagging Law Update
By Andrea Burke
Cracks are appearing in the government’s plans to silence criticism from ordinary people, charities and campaigning organisations, known as the ‘gagging law’. Together we’ve forced the government to ‘pause’ the law.
But the government could still block any changes the House of Lords make to fix the gagging law. So we need to show them that pushing ahead with the gagging law will cost them votes at the next election.
If we work together, we can make sure every MP is visited by a group of 38 Degrees members in their constituency with a copy of our 210,000-strong petition against the gagging law. And if MPs are convinced their constituents are against it, they’ll be putting pressure on the government to pull the plug on the gagging law.
So could you book an appointment with your MP for 38 Degrees members in your constituency to give them the petition? All you have to do is click this link and enter your postcode. Then you’ll get their phone number and be guided through making the call.
While the law is in the House of Lords, there’s a danger that MPs will think the pressure‘s gone away. Receiving a copy of the petition and meeting constituents who are opposed to the law will help convince your MP that this is still an issue they want to be on the right side of.
Not only can we give MPs a copy of the big petition, we can also give them a copy of a report which an independent commission has recently published. It details problems with the gagging law and what the government could do to fix it. It’s caused quite a stir in the House of Lords – but many MPs won’t have read it yet.
38 Degrees members who’ve done it before say it doesn’t take long to organise a hand-in. Once you’ve made an appointment with your MP, just fill in the details on the website. Then the 38 Degrees office team will send out everything you need to make it happen and let local 38 Degrees members know about it too.
It will only take a couple of minutes to make the appointment, so please click here to enter your postcode and get guided through the call to your MP’s office.
