While all my friends are out protesting
I sent the following email to Jeremy Corbyn, asking him to give his MPs a free vote on Article 50. I used email rather than a written letter because Corbyn's office make it clear that they do not accept letters (or phonecalls) from people who are not part of Corbyn's constituency.
Staffordshire, 30.1.17
Dear Mr Corbyn,
I am writing to urge you to allow your MPs a free vote on the expected Bill which will trigger Article 50.
I understand that you personally are not passionate about the European Union, and that you believe the referendum result to give a clear indication of the democratic will of the British people on the question of our membership. However, I am extremely concerned that Mrs May's Conservative government are using the referendum and the Brexit process as an excuse for a major power grab, and I feel that the Labour party should not lend support to this.
Mrs May has explicitly declared that she will cut wages in the UK in order to secure international trade deals, and it seems very likely that she aims to undermine workers' rights and sell the assets of the NHS for the same end. If this is allowed to continue unopposed, 2020 will be too late to restore workers' rights, human rights and the welfare state.
Even if I am wrong in that prediction, it is hard to see why anyone would choose to vote Labour in the next General Election, if Labour spend the intervening years supporting the Conservatives in enacting all their damaging policies completely unopposed. You will be aware how the electorate turned against the Liberal Democrats for supporting unpopular Conservative legislation, and the Liberal Democrats were in coalition so had a compelling reason to vote with the government.
As Leader of the Opposition, please permit your party's MPs to vote down Conservative initiatives that they believe to be misguided and against the interests of the British public. I am writing to you although not a constituent because I believe the upcoming vote on Article 50 is a matter of major national importance.
Thank you very much for all you do to protect the citizens of this country in a hostile political environment.
Yours Sincerely,
Dr [wallet name]
[work contact details]
Meanwhile my Dad is doing a really sterling letter-writing campaign about the horror show that is the Home Office mining NHS patient records in order to identify people they want to deport. (Never illegals, no human being is illegal.)
My gratitude goes out to everybody who's doing any kind of activism against all the scary political trends going on right now. I'm not contributing much myself, cos I'm mostly vacillating between terror and fatalistic despair. I'm hoping that getting started on doing something, however nominal, will help me to break out of that.
I prefer comments at Dreamwidth. There are currently
comments there. You can use your LJ address as an OpenID, or just write your name.
Staffordshire, 30.1.17
Dear Mr Corbyn,
I am writing to urge you to allow your MPs a free vote on the expected Bill which will trigger Article 50.
I understand that you personally are not passionate about the European Union, and that you believe the referendum result to give a clear indication of the democratic will of the British people on the question of our membership. However, I am extremely concerned that Mrs May's Conservative government are using the referendum and the Brexit process as an excuse for a major power grab, and I feel that the Labour party should not lend support to this.
Mrs May has explicitly declared that she will cut wages in the UK in order to secure international trade deals, and it seems very likely that she aims to undermine workers' rights and sell the assets of the NHS for the same end. If this is allowed to continue unopposed, 2020 will be too late to restore workers' rights, human rights and the welfare state.
Even if I am wrong in that prediction, it is hard to see why anyone would choose to vote Labour in the next General Election, if Labour spend the intervening years supporting the Conservatives in enacting all their damaging policies completely unopposed. You will be aware how the electorate turned against the Liberal Democrats for supporting unpopular Conservative legislation, and the Liberal Democrats were in coalition so had a compelling reason to vote with the government.
As Leader of the Opposition, please permit your party's MPs to vote down Conservative initiatives that they believe to be misguided and against the interests of the British public. I am writing to you although not a constituent because I believe the upcoming vote on Article 50 is a matter of major national importance.
Thank you very much for all you do to protect the citizens of this country in a hostile political environment.
Yours Sincerely,
Dr [wallet name]
[work contact details]
Meanwhile my Dad is doing a really sterling letter-writing campaign about the horror show that is the Home Office mining NHS patient records in order to identify people they want to deport. (Never illegals, no human being is illegal.)
My gratitude goes out to everybody who's doing any kind of activism against all the scary political trends going on right now. I'm not contributing much myself, cos I'm mostly vacillating between terror and fatalistic despair. I'm hoping that getting started on doing something, however nominal, will help me to break out of that.
I prefer comments at Dreamwidth. There are currently
comments there. You can use your LJ address as an OpenID, or just write your name.