I received this e-mail from iwantareferendum.org. Thought I'dpost it here for anyone interested.
- Sign up for mass lobby of Parliament
The EU Constitution will come before Parliament early in the New Year. While the timings are not yet fixed, the major debate is expected to take place in either late January or early February.
In order to demonstrate to MPs the level of support that there is for a referendum we want to encourage as many people as possible to come to Westminster at a crucial point in the debate to meet their MP in person and explain to them why it is so essential that we have a referendum.
Past experience has shown that a mass lobby is one of the most effective ways of getting a message across to MPs.
How you can help
If you are able to come down to Westminster on a week day, in either January or February 2008, to tell your MP in person why they should vote for a referendum, please email [email protected] to register for the event. The precise date will be announced nearer the time.
- Momentum building in parish referendum movement
Parishes may hold consultative votes on any issue, including that of the revised EU Constitution. They are an excellent way of spreading awareness, and demonstrating to the Government the level of popular concern over its refusal to hold a national referendum.
So far, around 18 parishes have organised votes on the issue of a referendum on the revised EU Constitution, including Britain's largest village, Brougton Astley in Leicestershire. In all cases, electors voted by a landslide for a national vote on the treaty. Parish referendums are due to be held shortly in Crigglestone (Yorkshire), Northallerton (Yorkshire) and Cranbrook (Kent).
How you can help
If you have organised a parish referendum or are considering doing so, please get in touch with I Want a Referendum on 020 7197 2333. We can provide free pamphlets for distribution in order to build local awareness, with a view to boosting voter turnout. We can also provide advice and information on organising parish referendums.
For more information, click on the link below:
www.iwantareferendum.com/publication/parishes.doc
The Crigglestone referendum will take place on 20 December, 4-9 pm. If you live in the area, and are available to help - through helping to distribute leaflets, or knocking on doors - please get in touch with Alex Story, the referendum organiser, on [email protected], or by phoning 07712 885 902. Post referendum refreshments will be provided!
- Help build up support for the campaign
Over 30,000 people have now signed up to support our fast growing campaign for a referendum and we have received significant media coverage. While this has been a fantastic response so far, we urgently need to build up our list of supporters if we are going to generate enough momentum to persuade the Government to change its mind and give us a referendum. The Constitution is due to go before Parliament early next year and the Government aims to ratify it by May; we do not have much time.
How you can help
If you haven't already done so, please encourage your friends, family and colleagues to support our important campaign. Our quick and easy to use send to a friend page allows you to email up to 10 friends to tell them about our website and is a great way of increasing awareness about the campaign.
sendtofriend.iwantareferendum.com/page/invite
- Write to your MP
The more pressure that anti-referendum MPs can be put under in the run-up to the parliamentary debate, the more likely it is that they will listen to the majority of their constituents who want to have a say on the revived EU Constitution.
Over the coming months we will be working closely with the Democracy Movement to put pressure on MPs in marginal constituencies who want to go back on their promise to vote for a referendum on the EU Constitution. While still in its early stages, this process has been helped hugely by the hundreds of you who have already sent in responses from your MPs.
How you can help
Many thanks to all of you who have already written to your MPs, and for passing on their replies to us. For those who haven't yet done so, please do write to your MP asking them whether or not they are in favour of a referendum, explaining why you think they should be. The more people who write, the more MPs will feel inclined to pressure the Government into holding a referendum.
To make your life easier we've come up with some suggestions for your letter and how you can quickly send an email to your MP:
Read more about sending a letter to your MP:
www.iwantareferendum.com/involved.aspx#MP
Please email any responses you receive to [email protected] or post them to I Want a Referendum, 7 Tufton Street, London, SW1P 3QN.
Thanks again for your support. We cannot win without it.