[BITList] Fwd: The gagging law in five minutes

[Michael Feltham]

>
> Dear Michael,
>
> Tomorrow, MPs vote on the gagging law for a second time. They’ll  
> walk into the vote knowing that they’re under pressure. Together, 38  
> Degrees members have done a magnificent job of making the issue huge.
>
> We’ve sent over 46,000 personal, original emails to Chloe Smith, the  
> minister responsible for the gagging law, and nearly 150,000 emails  
> to our own MPs before and after the first vote. Nearly 2,000 of us  
> called our MPs last Monday, and 77 MPs have been visited by 38  
> Degrees members in person. Thank you for everything you’ve done so  
> far - but there's still lots more to do.
>
> On Friday, it seemed that the government had given ground. And there  
> were media reports saying that “ministers have been forced into a U- 
> turn”. [1] That’s not true. There’s a really long way to go before  
> we’re safe to claim victory. The National Council for Voluntary  
> Organisations said that parts of the gagging law are still “neither  
> clear nor workable”, and that “... civil society may still be  
> subject to ambiguous and damaging legislation”. [2]
>
> If we’re going to defeat the gagging law, we need to get the word  
> out further. If everyone who’s ever joined a local campaign group or  
> taken action with their favourite charity knew that they could be  
> stopped from doing that again, the public outcry would explode.
>
> The good news is that there’s something we can do about this.  
> Together, we number over 1.8 million people. That’s five times more  
> than the circulation of the Guardian, the same as the circulation of  
> the Daily Mail - and four times the population of Liverpool. [3]
>
> Simply put, we have quite a reach. So let’s use it. Can you help to  
> get the word out by sharing this five minute video explaining the  
> gagging law in simple terms? The more people who know what’s going  
> on and what’s at risk, the more chance we have of making the outcry  
> too big for the government to ignore.
>
> Here’s the link to the video. If everyone who gets this email sends  
> it to just one person who hasn’t heard of the gagging law, we could  
> make sure that millions of people across the UK know what the  
> government’s planning. Could you share it with your friends and  
> family now?
> https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/gagging-law-video
>
> Here’s a paragraph which you can include with the video, or you  
> could just press forward on this email:
>
> You might have heard about the “gagging law” currently being voted  
> on by MPs. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s really bad news. If it  
> goes through, it will have a chilling effect on British democracy  
> and on our right to speak up on the issues that matter to us.
>
> Basically, the law slashes the spending limits on campaigning for  
> the year before any election. Campaigns that have impact don’t cost  
> the earth, but they aren’t free.
>
> Community groups, charities and campaigning organisations would all  
> be hit. Election time is when ordinary people have the most  
> influence on our politicians. On the big issues of the day – whether  
> or not to go to war, the future of our NHS, the environment,  
> welfare, immigration, etc. – we'd all be gagged.
>
> The problem is that this law has come out of nowhere and not many  
> people have heard what’s going on. If we’re going to defeat it, we  
> need to get the word out further. If every single person who’s ever  
> joined a local campaign group or taken action with their favourite  
> charity knew that they could be stopped from doing that again, the  
> outcry could explode.
>
> Here’s a simple five minute video you can watch for more  
> information. Can you take a look, and then help get the word out by  
> passing it on to your friends and family?
> https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/gagging-law-video
>
>
> Thanks for everything you do,
>
> Susannah, Becky, Blanche and the 38 Degrees team
>
>
> PS: The sooner we see the back of this damaging law, the sooner we  
> can return to campaigning on the issues that matter to all of us.  
> We’re committed to working together on the NHS, on MP pay, on  
> fracking - and this week, there were developments in our legal aid  
> and zero hours campaigns. There’s hundreds of other issues that  
> we’ll act on together too. But first, we need to defeat the gagging  
> law.
>
> Share the video with your friends and family now:
> https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/gagging-law-video
>
>
> NOTES
> [1] The Guardian: Ministers make U-turn over ‘gagging’ anti-lobbying  
> laws after public outcry: http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/sep/06/ministers-retreat-anti-lobbying-laws-charities
>
> [2] Here’s the full statement from National Council for Voluntary  
> Organisations (http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/):
> ‘The government’s commitment to abandon the change to the test of  
> what constitutes non-party campaigning is a significant step in the  
> right direction. When the new wording is published we will take  
> legal advice and also urgently seek the view of the Electoral  
> Commission, to ensure the revised test meets the spirit and the  
> letter of policy intent set out by government.
>
> The revised test should ensure that for charities operating within  
> charity law, their activities should not be subject to registration  
> with the Electoral Commission and therefore the regulation outlined  
> in part two of the Bill.
>
> We remain concerned that other voluntary organisations in civil  
> society may still be subject to ambiguous and damaging legislation.  
> NCVO believes in a society where freedom of speech, the freedom to  
> associate and the right to free and fair elections are all similarly  
> inviolable.
>
> The proposed definition of controlled expenditure remains neither  
> clear nor workable for non-charitable voluntary organisations. We  
> remain similarly concerned that the expenditure thresholds proposed  
> in the new bill will be damaging, particularly for small community  
> groups that are not charities. These must be restored at current  
> levels. The question of how to sensibly regulate groups working in  
> coalition remains to be addressed.
>
> If a revised test of what constitutes non-party campaigning by  
> charities, together with a clear definition of controlled  
> expenditure and unchanged expenditure thresholds, cannot be  
> achieved, we will continue to argue for the withdrawal of part two  
> of the Bill.
>
> We will continue to work with the broad range of organisations  
> expressing concerns, as well as with government and with the  
> Political and Constitutional Reform Committee, to ensure we get  
> legislation that recognises and does not undermine the valuable role  
> undertaken by charities' and community groups.’
>
> [3] The Guardian: ABCs: National daily newspaper circulation March  
> 2013: http://www.theguardian.com/media/table/2013/apr/12/abcs-national-newspapers
> Liverpool Council website: Population: http://liverpool.gov.uk/council/key-statistics-and-data/data/population/
>
> Follow 38 Degrees on Facebook and Twitter.
>
> Unsubscribe: If you no longer wish to be part of our movement and  
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>
> This email was sent to ismay at mjfeltham.plus.com.
>
> 38 DEGREES Registered Company No. 6642193
>
>

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