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Mass Lobby for Trade Justice - Overview
Wednesday 2 November - what will happen?
- A huge gathering outside the House of Commons with a big 'moment' at 1pm.
- An opportunity to meet your MP.
From 12pm, we would like everyone taking part to gather in a queue outside the House of Commons to meet their MP. How long you spend there depends what time you arrange to meet your MP - but we expect most lobbying to be over by late afternoon. The queue will be divided into nations and regions of the UK to make it easy for MPs to find their constituents.
But won't my MP know a lot more than me?
You don't need to be an expert - you just need to be willing to ask your MP some questions. MPs have to keep up to date on a huge range of issues. Many MPs will not have any detailed knowledge about international trade. This makes it all the more important that they hear from you what needs to change. The Mass Lobby Questions & Answers booklet will explain what to say; this is available to
download here [pdf] or to read online here.
Remember, MPs are there to represent your interests, and we need to make sure that as many as possible take action for trade justice!
Who is my MP?
- You can find out their name and office telephone number by calling the House of Commons inquiry line: 020 7219 4272.
- You can also visit www.locata.co.uk/commons
on the internet and type in your postcode.
How can I contact my MP?
- You can call their office.
- You can write to them at: House of Commons, Westminster, London, SW1A 0AA. Below you will find a sample letter you might like to follow.
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Dear __________________ MP
On Wednesday 2 November. thousands of Make Poverty History campaigners will come to parliament to lobby for trade justice, not free trade. As one of your constituents, I would like to ask you to meet [me/name of local group] on the afternoon of 2 November and to hear [my/our] concerns about the forthcoming World Trade Organisation Ministerial.
The UK Government has said that liberalisation should not be forced on poor countries. The World Trade Organisation Ministerial meeting in December is a chance to turn this rhetoric into reality. It is imperative that poor countries have the right to choose trade policies that will help them end poverty, respect workers' rights and protect their environment.
In particular, please lobby Trade and Industry Secretary Alan Johnson to get the Government to use its influence within the EU to:
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Allow developing countries to use trade policies to protect their vulnerable farm sectors and promote their national industries.
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Allow countries to choose the best policies for poor people and the environment in services such as water, health and education.
Please sign the Trade Justice Early Day Motion* to be tabled in the week beginning 10 October.
Yours sincerely
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*An Early Day Motion (EDM) is like a petition that MPs can sign to show support for something. The greater the number of MPs who sign an EDM, the greater the pressure on the Government to act on the demands.
By tradition, some MPs with particular roles in government or in their party cannot
sign EDMs - but you can still ask them to take note of the points made in the motion.
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