Rally and Lobby of Parliament

Rally: 1pm, The Emmanuel Centre, 9-23 Marsham Street, London SW1P 3DW

Mass Lobby: 2.30pm, St Stephens Entrance, Houses of Parliament

On Tuesday 22^nd November we need you to come to Parliament and add your voice to many others calling for a rethink of the Government’s crazy FITs proposals.  The more people there are, the more chance we have of buying the time the industry needs to adjust, and the better our chances of getting a FITs scheme that gives us a sustainable, growing industry for the future.

Below are some FAQs to answer queries you may have.  You can also download a fuller briefing from here.

• What actually happens on the day?

• How on earth will I get to talk to my MP?

• I can’t get there at 1pm…can I come later?

• How long will we be there?

• Should I bring other people with me?

• Anything else I can do?

• OK – I’m coming!  What do I need to do now?

What actually happens on the day?

Things will kick off with a rally in a hall a few minutes walk from Parliament.  We are lining up speakers from the major political parties to be there, and will get the chance to brief you on what happens when we go to lobby MPs.
Then at 2.30pm, we will take the short walk to Parliament, where you will get the chance to meet your MP.  The more of us who do this, the more MPs we will get to talk to, and the bigger the impact we will have.
You can download a much more detailed briefing here

How on earth will I get to talk to my MP?

Not many people realise they can walk into the House of Commons whenever it is in session and ask to see their MP.  You enter the rather grand Central Lobby and fill in a form known as a “green card” and House of Commons staff will set off to try and find your MP so you can speak to them.  But by all turning up and doing this together we will have a much greater impact.
Of course, it is not guaranteed that all MPs will be there (though we have organised this on a Tuesday, because it is one of the busiest times in Parliament).  So you will increase your chances if you contact your MP now to tell them you are coming and see if you can make an appointment.  A draft letter/email to send is here and you can get your MPs contact details from
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/

I can’t get there at 1pm…can I come later?

Technically you can turn up and lobby your MP at any time – but the effect is greater if we all do this together.  It would be helpful to be at the rally first – but if that really is impossible, get to the House of Commons as soon after 2.30pm as you can.
How long will we be there?

Although we will start queuing outside Parliament around 2.30pm, it will take a while to all get in.  Parliamentary security will only allow 50-100 people into the central lobby at a time to call down their MP, so the bigger the turn out the longer it takes to get through.  We really want to be able to keep the lobby going until 4-4.30ish though
You may have to wait anywhere from 10-30 minutes for your MP to arrive, and then are often taken off for a cup of tea, or to a meeting room or office to get the chance to explain your concerns.  Every MP is different, but you can expect 10 minutes at least chatting with your MP.
If your MP is unavailable, your Green Card is passed onto them through the internal post system, and usually they contact you to apologise for missing your visit and asking how they can help.  Alternatively, one of their staff may come to talk to you.

Should I bring other people with me?
The more people turn out, the better.  So if you can bring a couple of colleagues – especially if they work with you but live in a different constituency so will see a different MP – then please do so.
Obviously however people are busy – and even more so since this stupid decision was announced.  So if you can’t spare staff, then think of another way you can show their support to your MP.  Perhaps they could all sign letters which you could bring along to hand into the MP, and explain they wanted to come, but just could not spare the time because they are fighting to rescue the company from this ridiculous decision.

Anything else I can do?
If you are coming down, then why not let your local media know.  Getting a media story about your trip to Parliament will increase pressure on your MP to act.  It may help if you make sure you get a photograph of yourself at Parliament – either with Big Ben or another obvious landmark – or talking to your MP.
A draft press release you can adapt is included in the fuller briefing for the lobby here

OK – I’m coming!  What do I need to do now?
Most important thing is to contact your MP and let them know you will be there.  A draft email to do this is here.
Then you may want to download a fuller briefing from here.

If you have trouble viewing the full briefing document from any of the links above then please download the .doc version here