Mark Chilver - The Climate Coalition
Act Now Change Forever: Who knew lobbying your MP could be so much fun?
As someone who campaigns on the Climate Crisis it can feel quite lonely – the constant fight to tackle this issue is getting harder and harder. But events like the Act Now Change Forever mass lobby day reinspire my hope for the future.
You would like to think that the predictions for our planet would galvanise people’s attention and bring us together to ensure we save our beautiful home. But too many divisions and distractions have moved us to a dangerous position for the planet and its people.
But then a day like the Act Now Change Forever mass lobby day – organised by the Climate Coalition – comes along and it re-energises your belief in people and the cause.
The Climate Coalition had the support of 31 public figures for the launch of the People’s Picture, which was projected on the White Cliffs of Dover to mark Act Now Change Forever.
5,000 people calling for a healthier, safer, more just future
Over 5,000 people came to London from all over the UK to speak to their MPs and implore them to do more, go further and work faster to help solve this crisis.
The day was so full of energy – I arrived at the Queen Elizabeth 2 centre to a huge queue outside in the heatwave we were having.
The building was really buzzy with talks happening in the main hall and all the Climate Coalition members having stalls to help supporters talk to their MPs – sharing handy talking points, info and stats that supporters could use and just generally helping people get to where they needed to go with confidence.
I had a few different responsibilities for the day – I took some banners and people to the mass photo call outside, which was really funny…in the slight chaos that happens with so many people, I think we actually missed the main photoshoot or were cut out because we were too far on the side.
But it was so nice to just mingle, chat to people, meet surfers, firefighters, monks and nuns, and know we are a collective voice for making a difference.
I then looked after the Oxfam stall with my colleagues for a few hours before I went to meet my own MP.
Meeting my MP
Living in Oxford (surprise, surprise for an Oxfam employee – see the history of Oxfam) my MP is former Minister for Development, Labour MP Anneliese Dodds, and the meeting was booked in for 3.15pm. I walked over to the Westminster Methodist Central Hall where a lot of the meetings were happening, checked in and went to the room… I was blown away by what happened next.
As I arrived, there were 20 other constituents there from local climate groups and…40 school children and their teachers! Which was a surprise – but I love it when kids lobby the people in power, as it's so hard to say no to them.
We had a great, if a little rushed, meeting with Dodds, with lots of different constituents asking her position on everything from dropping debt, to wealth taxes which could pay for climate justice, to building houses on brownfield sites.
Dodds was very open to all the points of view, she took loads of notes and was generally supportive. I didn’t really have a question for her, I simply implored her to support a 2% tax on wealth over £10 million for Climate Justice (as well as other things) and she didn’t say no(?) but she talked about also having an exit tax too if a wealth tax was going to come in. So I am going to do a bit of research into that as I haven’t heard of it before.
Anneliese Dodds speaking to constituents. Photo: Mark Chilver - The Climate Coalition
So, what are the Act Now Change Forever results?
The Climate Coalition has said that over 200 MPs had meetings on that day itself! And the MPs who couldn’t make it were sent postcards from their constituents and were setting up meetings in their local patches in the future.
The day generated an extraordinary wave of media coverage, with over 250 pieces published, including across major national, international and regional outlets – from The Guardian, The Telegraph and The Independent to BBC and GB News, with an audience reach of 33.9m!
And we’ve already had a political impact, with a statement of support from the Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and a video message from the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband.
What does the future hold for climate justice?
It’s hard to overstate the importance of days like this to re-energise colleagues and campaigners working on climate justice. At Oxfam, we want to build on this momentum going into the autumn, where we will be stepping up our climate and inequality campaigning, calling for a wealth tax and to make rich polluters pay.
There will be plenty of opportunities to get involved, so watch this space. Join us and take action today – we’re in this fight for the long haul.
