The Friday Plug
Participation. Engagement. Dialogue. Only connect… and all that. It’s nice to advocate something practical now and again. Makes one feel that it’s not all whistling in the dark.
Tom Steinberg of mySociety (the people behind the mighty WriteToThem.com and PledgeBank) left a comment on my piece about the New Labour Education White Paper propaganda drive:
This is one of the reasons why we… have built our newest site, www.hearfromyourmp.com. Because constituents get a right to reply, there is a slight pressure on MPs to be original - you don’t want to be caught out by something like this in a place where people can point out that you appear to be astroturfing.
I signed up for this a while back but forgot to plug it. It’s all explained here.
Some MPs are already engaging in the process. Some are not. My local MP, for example, has been emailed twice letting her know that some of her constituents wish to discuss what she is doing in their name. As yet, she hasn’t replied.
Still. Go to it. The more people sign up, the more likely it is to happen. Let your MP know that you pay their wages and you’d like to know what you’re getting for your money.
Posted on December 2nd, 2005 at 3:40 pm
| See also • A life less ordinary • Say ‘No’ to 42 days • We can’t turn them away - MP’s response |
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I like the idea a lot. I think I’ll wait until I move out of Tower Hamlets though.
Why? Your man might be happy to engage during one of his flying visits to the UK…
We’re now at double where we were when I signed up in Torbay, princely sum of 6, I was 3rd. I’d get friends to do it but they mostly live in the bits of the Bay that aren’t in the constituency.
Justin, maybe email directly to your MP asking her to respond yourself as a constituent? She may respond better to a potential voter than to something from ‘another lobbying organisation’…
Mat: I’ve done that as well. I’m currently waiting for her to reply to two letters…