Our impact in September

We have good news and bad news. The good news is that this blog is absolutely bursting with incredible things we achieved together last month. The bad news is we really struggled to fit everything in!

We hope it gives you a flavour of what the 38 Degrees community’s actions are making happen – week in, week out. Change isn’t some far-off thing, debated by politicians or decided in fancy office boardrooms. It’s something we build together, little by little, as all our small actions add up to make a big difference.

Here’s why September made us proud to be part of this community:

GP Charges? Not according to Wes Streeting!

2,428 of you sent in your burning questions about the NHS for Health Secretary Wes Streeting to answer on camera – showing just how powerful he knows we are as a community. In doing so, we had a HUGE campaign win: he confirmed, to camera, that under his watch Labour will never charge for GP appointments. In case you missed it, you can check out the whole video here. Now we just need to get all the other major parties in England to commit to the same.

An unwelcome visitor

Another month, another controversial visit from the US President. After 217,864 people signed the petition against his unprecedented second state visit, we staged a right royal stunt in Westminster and Windsor. Together we hit the headlines to share the message that us Brits don’t think we should be rolling out the red carpet for Trump’s divisive, hate-filled politics.

Refugees Welcome Here

And speaking of divisive, hate-filled politics, after weeks of protests and attacks on refugees and asylum seekers here in the UK, 38 Degrees supporters took a stand. Thousands of us have signed up to put up posters in our windows to show our support for people in our communities who may be left feeling targeted and unwelcome off the back of recent events.

You, on LBC

Ahead of Labour’s party conference, we knew the Government needed to hear from the people who really matter – not corporate interests or shady lobbyists, but real people across the country. So we ran in-depth polling to find out public views on politics, what they thought the Government was doing well, and where they were failing. And then we turned that polling into powerful briefings for MPs and the media. It led to 38 Degrees CEO Matthew joining Lewis Goodall on LBC to share our findings, which were featured in a special edition of the News Agents podcast! Together we’re making sure that our voices are at the heart of politics here in the UK.

Fair press, actually

We teamed up with none other than Hugh Grant and campaigning group Hacked Off to launch a petition against press bullying. Because decades on from the phone hacking scandal, change still hasn’t happened. Already, more than 35,000 of us have signed to call for a new law to protect the public, showing that we need a free press – not a free pass for media harassment in the name of profit. And this week the 38 Degrees team, Hugh Grant and Hacked Off took our message straight to the Government at Labour Party Conference. Watch our video with Hugh Grant here.

From tragedy, a new law

For too long, victims of public tragedies – from Hillsborough to Grenfell to Covid – have faced an uphill battle for truth and justice. But no longer: on 16 September, a new law we campaigned for together was announced that would force public bodies to cooperate with investigations into major disasters. This is a huge milestone for so many families who’ve been denied answers and accountability for so long. And 38 Degrees supporters should feel proud to be a part of this step towards justice.

Stopping Reform hiding from scrutiny

In a move straight out of the Trump playbook, local Reform councillors blacklisted the Nottingham Post – making it really difficult for them to report crucial stories. No local press means no scrutiny, and this spells disaster for democracy. So the Nottingham Post launched a petition calling on Reform to stop hiding from the press. More than 40,000 of us have signed, we hit the headlines, and this week we won! The Reform led council gave in and lifted the ban on local journalists!

Phew! If you’ve made it this far, well done – I hope you feel as proud as I do about the impact we’ve had together this past month. None of this would be possible without the thousands of you who chip in to keep us going, relentlessly holding the powerful to account and championing the better future we all want for our country.

We’re fiercely independent, powered by people like you – rather than corporate interests or government funding. Which is why your donations are more crucial than ever right now, as we face off against the dark, powerful forces with deep pockets that influence our politics.

We’re so grateful for your support, especially when times are tough. Thank you for being part of this.