Page 5 | 100,000 signatures on the Equality Act - What next

ResisterRex · 10/03/2023 08:57

lanadelgrey · 10/03/2023 08:48

Underlining the point of emailing your MP. Labour MPs - not sure if it’s all parties - have a system where they log broad subject area of correspondence as it’s a useful way of taking temperature of the country.

I hope they don't use this to log anything other than the subject matter as otherwise they'd be sharing your personal data. Please say this doesn't happen?!

LatteToday · 10/03/2023 09:24

@Gentlyfallingsnow a totally individual email may be better, but from sexmatters is fine especially if you personalise.

@ResisterRex i work for an MP. We have VERY strict rules about data handling. We cannot share anything beyond the MP office in terms of personal data. (Eg you email in about sex/gender, we cannot share that info with anyone, including your email address or name- not even with the party organisation that the MP belongs to). The exceptions would be if you explicitly consented for us to contact a third party on your behalf, or we referred a case - which would be with your consent. We might also raise cases with minister/shadow minister and this would likely be anonymised. ‘A constituent…’ with case reference numbers instead of names.

Its possible MPs might get asked by their main party ‘have you had much correspondence on … issue?’ in terms of making policy, but that would never include individual details of constituents. (Well certainly not from our office)

BlackeyedSusan · 10/03/2023 09:28

Thanks latte, thats helpful

ResisterRex · 10/03/2023 09:34

Thanks latte

seXX · 10/03/2023 09:44

Arapawa · 09/03/2023 23:12

Congratulations Maya. I've scrolled through the MPs list several times now and can't find mine (not that she's going to be much good tbh) Sarah Olney, but I need to send it.

Would it be possible to, in future, put the MPs name in alpha order so that it's more efficient to find them?

The MP list is in alphabetical order by surname, it just shows the first name first.

Arapawa · 10/03/2023 10:08

@seXX Doh! Managed to find her name now. Thanks.

ArabellaScott · 10/03/2023 10:10

LatteToday · 10/03/2023 09:24

@Gentlyfallingsnow a totally individual email may be better, but from sexmatters is fine especially if you personalise.

@ResisterRex i work for an MP. We have VERY strict rules about data handling. We cannot share anything beyond the MP office in terms of personal data. (Eg you email in about sex/gender, we cannot share that info with anyone, including your email address or name- not even with the party organisation that the MP belongs to). The exceptions would be if you explicitly consented for us to contact a third party on your behalf, or we referred a case - which would be with your consent. We might also raise cases with minister/shadow minister and this would likely be anonymised. ‘A constituent…’ with case reference numbers instead of names.

Its possible MPs might get asked by their main party ‘have you had much correspondence on … issue?’ in terms of making policy, but that would never include individual details of constituents. (Well certainly not from our office)

Thanks, Latte.

Is it worth directly contacting the Petitions Committee, do you think?

Cailin66 · 10/03/2023 10:53

thanks @LatteToday and @ScrollingLeaves

So exciting to be part of all this.

Villagetoraiseachild · 10/03/2023 11:06

Thanks @LatteToday . That is most useful to know.
I personalised mine alright, from the top of the email.
We went to the same school!
And as luck would have it, they're also on the Petition's Committee.....

Villagetoraiseachild · 10/03/2023 11:23

What I'm now wondering is, would your MP be 'obliged' to pass on your email about the petition to the Petition Committee?

Or only if they feel like it?
That would be really useful to know.

Villagetoraiseachild · 10/03/2023 11:43

Just been reading up on UK Parliament's M.P's Guide to Procedure page and Format of Petition Debates.
Very short but worth a quick read.
Sorry, dont know how to link.

Boiledbeetle · 10/03/2023 11:45

guidetoprocedure.parliament.uk/collections/cDdOWeLu/petitions

100,000 signatures on the Equality Act - What next

Thelnebriati · 10/03/2023 12:01

This might need its own thread but what action can we take if we are blocked from emailing our MP? I don't just mean 'write a letter', but surely we should be able to contact our MP?

Villagetoraiseachild · 10/03/2023 12:07

Thanks Beetle!

The page I saw, MP's Guide to Procedure is useful and clarifies that a Petition Committee member introduces the debate...

Am guessing that would be more likely to be Kemi for example, so am planning to write to her directly.

Also wondering which allies we would have to speak, other than the marvellous Rosie Duffield. Any thoughts?

Nothing to be found on how which debates are selected once the 100,000 is reached.

Sugarfree23 · 10/03/2023 12:11

Let's hope Labour wake up and take notice.

Villagetoraiseachild · 10/03/2023 12:19

Hi @Thelnebriati I dont know and have to go out soon, but surely MP's need to be contactable?

I do believe in observing protocol in these matters but if you are being blocked I would cut out the middle person and write directly to Kemi Badenoch.

And see if there's a complaints procedure for this.

ILikeDungs · 10/03/2023 12:29

Have written to my Bufton-Tufton through WriteToThem. Will also do an email to Kemi today.

northstars · 10/03/2023 12:33

Thank you Maya!!! I have emailed the Sex Matters email to my MP (Ellie Reeves)

Original poster

MForstater · 10/03/2023 13:33

Nevermind numbers, here is a graph!

831 people have written their MP so far.

Personalised letters are better than form letters, but getting more people to write is important too so we wanted to make it easy for the maximum number. (personalising at the beginning is good)

Thanks to everyone involved in the long climb!

OP posts:

Sugarfree23 · 10/03/2023 13:39

What a massive show of support of JKR

Original poster

MForstater · 10/03/2023 13:40

LatteToday · 10/03/2023 08:24

MPs are under no obligation to answer letters or emails- and many will ignore ‘standard text’ emails.

PLEASE PLEASE do personalise your email- start with the sex matters email but make it personal to you- that way you are far more likely to get a response, and your MP is FAR more likely to see your email.

(I do this for a job)

well done everyone!!

I have added a note of encouragement for people to do this on the webpage.

OP posts:

Dressingdown1 · 10/03/2023 13:45

I've emailed my MP (John Glen, Conservative). I've emailed him a couple of times before and he seems to be prepared to listen to my concerns.

MaryThorne · 10/03/2023 13:55

MForstater · 09/03/2023 16:56

Thank you everyone for your amazing work promoting the petition. It all got quite exciting!

What next?

It will stay open till April 20th and its good to keep getting more people to sign. We will try to get some more press coverage of it.

The main thing now is to write to MPs and encourage them to show interest and for them to write to the Petitions Committee and to Kemi. (257 people have already today!)

We have a webinar planned for the end of March on how we think the Equality Act and the GRA interact and why and how the law needs to be clarified.

Happy to answer questions on here too.

sex-matters.org/take-action/write-to-your-mp-about-the-petition/

Have just emailed my MP - keep up the good work and thank you for all you and Sex Matters do! 😀

Boiledbeetle · 10/03/2023 14:08

MForstater · 10/03/2023 13:33

Nevermind numbers, here is a graph!

831 people have written their MP so far.

Personalised letters are better than form letters, but getting more people to write is important too so we wanted to make it easy for the maximum number. (personalising at the beginning is good)

Thanks to everyone involved in the long climb!

Numbers and a graph.

Spoilt! We are spoilt.

😁

Boiledbeetle · 10/03/2023 14:10

It's still going up as well!

102852
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/623243

Then
sex-matters.org/take-action/write-to-your-mp-about-the-petition/