Remember, remember the 10th of November – a day of action to save British democracy.
Theresa May has a plot. It’s called the EU Withdrawal Bill, and under the guise of ‘doing the admin’ on Brexit, it aims at the biggest transfer of power away from Parliament and to the Executive in Britain’s peacetime history.
If the EU Withdrawal Bill passes without being amended, it will:
- Give the government the power strip away crucial workers’ rights and environmental protections without even a vote in parliament
- Undermine our human rights, withdrawing from the Charter of Fundamental Rights
- Give ministers the power to make additional laws, without consulting parliament, if they decide that it is “urgent” in light of Brexit negotiations
- Attack consumer protections and food standards
- Make it more difficult to regulate the financial sector
On Tuesday 14th November, MPs will begin debating amendments to the Bill, and on the Friday beforehand they will be in their constituencies. It is vital that MPs – especially Tory MPs – feel pressure in these final days.
So join us for a day of action to Stop the Powergrab Plot.
What you should do
1. Write to your MP now to ask them to vote for amendments which safeguard democracy and protect our rights – you can use the template letter here.
2. On Friday 10th November, make your voice heard outside your nearest Conservative MP’s constituency office (and, if you’re a constituent, get a meeting with them). We want these stunts to be visual and creative rather than disruptive, as MPs will be in their constituencies to do casework.
Work together with people in your local area to get people down, and make a facebook event. You can download a sign/placard here, and make it visually interesting if you have time. A Tudor theme is good (and we’ve used it before) because the new government powers in the EU Withdrawal Bill are sometimes called “Henry VIII powers”.
Remember to tell us about any planned stunts (email info@anothereurope.org) so that we can help you promote it and get press along.
3. If you don’t have any local Tory MPs, drop into your local MP’s surgery and lobby them on November 10th.
What you should say
We won’t know exactly which amendments will be debated until the following week – but the basic message won’t change:
- Unamended, the EU Withdrawal Bill is a huge, almost unprecedented, threat to our democracy. MPs must vote to amend it to stop the attempted powergrab
- We are fighting for crucial rights and freedoms, including human rights, workers’ rights, environmental protections and consumer protections. We want a guarantee that additional powers will not be used to undermine these.
1st November 2017