Oct 9th, 2014
Recall: Meet your MP
By lindsayriddoch
It’s crunch time. In a few weeks MPs will vote on whether to support real recall: giving voters the power to sack bad MPs in between elections.
From the expenses scandal to cash for questions – we’ve seen ‘bad apple’ MPs who shouldn’t get to keep their job. But the government’s version of recall (unsurprisingly) wants to keeps the power to sack MPs within the Westminster club, and out of voters hands.
But there’s a real chance we could transform the recall bill to put voters in charge. First we need to persuade enough MPs to vote for crucial changes to the government’s plans. The vote’s in a couple of weeks so we have to move quickly.
Let’s start by arranging meetings with as many of our MPs as possible. MPs from all parties have already come out in support. Click here to set up a meeting with your MP.
It’s really easy to set up the meeting. When you click the link there are instructions on the webpage. And as soon as you have a meeting confirmed, the 38 Degrees staff team can invite other 38 Degrees members who live near you to come along. There are top tips and guides to help you respond to any questions MPs might have here.
But the key message you’ll need to get across, which MPs will find difficult to argue with face-to-face, is that they should trust their voters to make good decisions.
It’s within our grasp. MPs can, and will, vote for our changes. But they’ll need to hear from their voters to be convinced They need to know that this’ll be a vote-winner.
