Your briefing for the Lobbying Bill Day of Action on the 10th December
Thank you so much for joining the lobby in Parliament on the 10th of December. We are very much looking forward to seeing you in Westminster and helping you to make your views heard directly to MPs and Peers.
We are at a crucial stage of the campaign. After winning a pause in the passage of the bill through Parliament new recommendations will be released on the 10th December on how the bill must change. It’s vital that the government hears directly from campaigners and we keep up the pressure to make sure the bill doesn’t become law in its current form.
Below you can find more information about what you can expect from the day, logistical information, some tips on how to make the most of the time with your MP or Peer and some background information about the Lobbying bill.
IMPORTANT: You will receive a full briefing at 11.30am in the Wordsworth Room of the Queen Elizabeth 11 Conference centre. Please attend this briefing or let us know if you can’t make that time.
Thank you again for participating in this important campaign to defend our right to make our voices heard.
Plan for the day:
11.30 - 12.30 / BriefingAn opportunity for you to hear about the Bill, the commission report and the proposed amendments and to prepare for meetings. / Wordsworth Room, Queen Elisabeth II Conference Centre
12.30 - 20.00 / Supporter meetings with MPs and Peers
If you don’t already have a meeting arranged with your MP then we will contact your MP for you to arrange a time on the day. / Location and timing depending on what you arranged with the office of your MP.
13.30 - 14.30 / Space to meet your MP or Peers
We’ve booked a room in Parliament so if you are arranging a meeting with your MP or a Peer please suggest this time and Committee Room 4. There will be stewards and staff on hand to help you. / Committee Room 4 inside Parliament
Directions to Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre:
The nearest tube stations are Westminster or Victoria. The Conference center is a few minutes up from the North side of Parliament Square. For full details on how to get to the venue see their website http://www.qeiicc.co.uk/contact-us/how-to-find-us
The Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre,
Broad Sanctuary,
London
SW1P 3EE
Tel: 0207 7798 4000
Stewards will be on hand during the day to support you, and give you any further training and information you need.
If you have any problems please contact: 07764253739
Background information
What is the lobbying Bill?
In full, it's called The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill. When the Bill was introduced in to Parliament earlier this year a huge number of orgnaisations representing diverse campaigning and other interest groups spoke out against the proposed changes as it would greatly affect campaigning in the run up to an election, these include Oxfam, The Royal British Legion, the Countryside Alliance and Mumsnet. Organizations such as the Electoral Commission have also said they are unhappy with how the Bill has been drafted.
What's the problem?
The Bill as proposed has a section, called ‘part 2’, on ‘non-party campaigning’. The proposals in this section place restrictions on campaigning in the year before an election. The Bill proposes heavy limits in the amount charities can spend on their campaigning and advocacy work during an election year. It also suggests a much wider scope to limit what this money can be spent on, including staffing and other core costs. It could effectively prevent organisations campaigning in coalitions and limit campaigners’ ability to make their voice heard on the issues they think politicians need to hear. If this law had been in place, historic campaigns like Make Poverty History might not have happened.
The government have told us that there is nothing to worry about and that the Bill will not affect the type of campaigning we carry out. However, the legal advice charities have received disagree and say that as it currently stands the Bill could severely impact on our ability to campaign.
What is the Commission on Civil Society and Democratic Engagement?
The Commission is an independent body that is supported by a number of organisations with concerns about the Bill. http://civilsocietycommission.info/ .
The Commission has been conducting in-depth research into how the Bill needs to be amended and has been holding consultations across the UK. The results of this research will be published on the 10th of December. We need to encourage MPs and Peers to support these recommendations.
What happened so far?
So far, the Bill has passed through the House of Commons and is now being debated in the Lords. Before the last of these three debates, the Government tabled some amendments to the Bill which it said would address the concerns that charities, civil society organisations and the Electoral Commission had. However, these changes don’t nearly go far enough and fail to address the impact that we have been advised could seriously hamper our campaigning on important issues in election years.
The Bill is now being considered in the House of Lords, where it was debated before the government agreed to a ‘pause’ in the Bill on the 5th November. Following this pause the Commission for Civil society launched a round of evidence gathering across the UK looking at what changes need to be made.
It is crucial that the government, MPs and Lords feel pressure to agree with the Commission’s recommendations and heavily amends this Bill.
Why has this happened?
The Bill was introduced quickly without any pre-legislative scrutiny, so different groups only began to speak out after it was made public.
Tips when meeting with your MP and what to ask them to do:
· If this is your first meeting with your MP on this issue you might find it useful to do some background research to find out who your MP is, what party they belong to and especially on how your MP voted when the Lobbying Bill passed through the House of Commons. You can find a voting record here:
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/blogs/2013/11/gagging-law-mp-results-table
· During the meeting: say hello and introduce yourself. Clearly express your concern and say you are interested to find out where they stand on this.
· We will provide you with a briefing on the day outlining our proposed amendments to the Bill and a copy of the Commission report. Please ask your MP to have a look at the Commission report and consider supporting those amendments.
· Make sure you include some examples of local campaigns you have been involved with and let your MP know why this concerns you personally.
· And last but not least: the most important thing in the meeting is to convey your concern and the need for them to take action. Please ask them to commit to supporting the recommendations that the Commission on Civil Society and Democratic engagement will be making when they are introduced as amendments to the Bill in a few days’ time. They need to pass on their concerns to their party leaders and if they are Peers please ask them to vote in favor of the amendments that will be proposed based on the Commission’s recommendations.
· Please come back to the Conference Centre afterwards to let us know how the meeting went – it’s really important to hear what your MP said and how the meeting went.
We will provide you with specific asks to put to your MP on the day at the supporter briefing at 11.30 at the Queen Elisabeth II Conference Centre. Please ensure to attend this briefing.
Take action online
If you use facebook or Twitter you can help amplify our impact by taking action online. Or if you can’t make it on the day you can still contact your MP online to ask them to support the proposed changes to the bill. Some suggested tweets are below.
@MPname I support the http://civilsocietycommission.info/ proposed changed to the #gagginglaw, as my MP will you support them too?
I’ve just met my MP to call for changes to the #gagginglaw, please support the campaign to keep our freedom of speech
@MPname Over 100 organisations are calling for changes to the #gagginglaw today as my MP will you join them?