Tomorrow, MPs start debating the gagging law. [1] The government wants to rush it through parliament. [2] Our best hope of stopping them is to make sure MPs realise just what a dodgy law they are being asked to vote for. Please can you email your MP now and help build the pressure?
If passed, the gagging law would have a chilling effect on our democracy. From May 2014, draconian new rules would prevent non-politicians from speaking up on the big issues of the day. A huge range of campaign groups and charities – everyone from The Royal British Legion, to Oxfam, to the RSPB – are warning about the threat this poses. [3]
MPs need to know we won’t stand for this – so please take a minute to email yours before Tuesday’s debate:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/gagging-bill-MPs
It’s telling that so many groups who wouldn’t normally agree with each other have united to oppose the gagging law. Groups that speak out in favour of hunting, windfarms, HS2 or building more houses are joining together with groups who say exactly the opposite. [4]
That’s because there’s one thing we should all be able to agree on: in a healthy democracy, everyone should able to express their views. And everyone should be allowed to get organised to highlight what politicians are saying and doing on the issues that matter to them.
Politics is too important to leave to political parties. When we speak up about decisions that affect us and the future of our country, we can often change things for the better. Are politicians really so arrogant as to think the UK would be better off if all these groups were blocked from campaigning?
Let’s come together quickly and tell MPs that this gagging law must not be passed. The first vote is on Tuesday, so please email your MP now:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/gagging-bill-MPs
Thanks for being involved,
David, Susannah, Fiona and the 38 Degrees team
PS: Over 55,000 38 Degrees members have emailed their MPs so far. Every message from a voter adds to the pressure. So please click here to send yours:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/gagging-bill-MPs
NOTES:
[1] Or to give it it’s official name, The Transparency of Lobbying, Non-Party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Bill
[2] See the parliamentary timetable set out here: http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2013-14/transparencyoflobbyingnonpartycampaigningandtradeunionadministration.html
[3] All these organisations have signed an open letter to the minister in charge, Chloe Smith MP, warning that the law will “have the result of muting charities and groups of all sorts and sizes on the issues that matter most to them and the people they support”: http://blogs.ncvo.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Chloe-Smith-non-party-campaigning-final.pdf
[4] See the full list of organisations who’ve signed the NCVO letter here: http://blogs.ncvo.org.uk/2013/08/22/still-too-many-questions-around-non-party-campaigning-rules/
MORE INFORMATION AND FURTHER READING:
News Coverage:
The Guardian – Lobbying bill threatens free speech for charities, says top lawyer:
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/sep/02/lobbying-bill-threatens-free-speech-charities
BBC – Lobbying bill could silence us, say charities:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-23808996
Charity lawyer warns new lobbying bill poses ‘existential threat to charity campaigning’:
http://www.civilsociety.co.uk/governance/news/content/15918/charity_lawyer_warns_new_lobbying_bill_poses_existential_threat_to_charity_campaigning
The Independent View: Concerns about lobbying bill are not alarmist:
Reports from experts:
The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has made a briefing on the bill:
Click to access our-briefing-on-the-Transparency-of-lobbying-bill.pdf
Baites Wells and Braithwaites, a leading law firm specialising in charities, has produced the following briefing:
http://www.bwbllp.com/file/non-party-campaigning-pdf
The Electoral Commission has said it has “significant concerns” about the bill and that it “may be unenforceable”:
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