Rochester & Strood by-election: Day of Action

On Thursday 23rd October we heard that Ed Milliband would be coming to Rochester & Strood and that the media circus would be out in full force on the High Street in Rochester. They probably would have wanted to write about the rise of UKIP, immigration and the EU.

But hundreds of 38 Degrees members said in a survey the week previously that, actually, our priorities are the NHS, tax dodging and Lodge Hill. So as the media swarmed around the politicians, we showed them that ordinary people want this by-election to be about more than the spin.

38 Degrees members held a table outside the Deaf Cat on the High Street in Rochester. Together, we spoke to passers-by, and made some eye catching posters, to show that this election is about more than party politics.

In a survey sent out to 38 Degrees members, members voted to try to push the issues we care about to the top of the agenda in the by-election. We turned up the volume on issues such as the capacity at Medway hospital, tax dodging and climate change.

Thursday was a good start, with Ed Milliband visiting – we turned the attention of the media towards local people about what they think about the election. We made sure they heard our opinions.

Together, we’re using people-power to change the agenda and make sure the media doesn’t whitewash over the things that local people really care about.

You can see more of the pictures from the day on the 38 Degrees Facebook page here.