Stewarding for Trade Justice

Max Hogg on the day he braved the crowds and the November rain to help steward the biggest mass lobby of Parliament in 2005.

A steward helps out an MP The queue over the bridge An MP talks to lobbyists

It's 5.45 am and I'm cycling through the streets of Oxford in the dark and the rain to catch the 6.00 am bus to London. I'm quickly deciding that a visit to my girlfriend the day before I steward at the Trade Justice Movement mass lobby of Parliament wasn't such a good idea after all! With fresh memories of stewarding the inspiring, but slightly chaotic, night vigil back in March (where an estimated 25,000 people turned up, when they expected 5,000), I'm feeling a little apprehensive.

I didn't need to worry, though. The event had been meticulously planned, including what must have been many hours of discussions with the four London authorities that had control over different sections of the queue. Each region of the UK had been designated an area in the lobby queue, organised in order of how far they had travelled to get to the event. So Northern Ireland and Scotland were at the head of the queue, with the Londoners about a mile away, over Lambeth bridge and queuing down Albert Embankment. I could imagine the Londoners might have been a bit offended at being last in the queue in their own city!

The aim of the lobby was to send an unequivocal message to the UK Government that it must fight for trade justice at the World Trade Organisation talks in December. An estimated 8,000 supporters lobbying over 350 MPs would have sent a strong enough message. But 8,000 supporters, many of whom had taken the day off work, queuing for up to six hours in the wind and the rain for the chance to speak to their MP had a huge impact.

As a steward helping to run an event smoothly, its often hard to appreciate the significance of the event itself. So it was encouraging for us to see an unknown lady emerge from Parliament and walk along the queue, individually thanking supporters and stewards for dominating the day's proceedings inside the House of Commons. It turned out she was a member of the House of Lords, heavily involved in Parliamentary debates on international trade.

Passionate members of the public had made the effort to come to London for the event from all over the country. So the only frustrating aspect of the day was that a minority of MPs refused to leave Parliament to visit their constituents in the queue, even though cycle rickshaws had been laid on to transport them. It was left to us, as stewards, to placate these disappointed supporters - not an easy job! All we could do was get them to fill in a 'green card' to say they had been there.

We also suggested that they write to their MP to (politely!) demand a meeting back in their constituency. MPs, as our representatives, should always be keen to listen to our views, and so I would urge any of you who were unable to attend the mass lobby to do the same. Write to your MP, meet them and keep up the pressure for trade justice, until and beyond the WTO meeting in December.