The Oxford Uni group ask their MP to Ditch Dirty Development
Your MP is an important ally in the campaign to increase the pressure on DFID. MPs can raise the issue of development aid and energy in Parliament, ask Parliamentary Questions, or work with their parties to increase the profile of the issue.
How to lobby your MP
1. Email. This can be a great way to communicate with your MP. If you want to show him or her how many constituents are concerned about the issue, why not circulate a sample email or key points to raise to your group’s local email list to make it easy for lots of people to write to the MP.
2. Write. A letter demonstrates a higher level of concern than an email, as it takes you more effort to write and post. Hold a letter writing meeting, or get lots of signatures on one letter. If there are other student societies that would be sympathetic, why not write a joint letter?
3. Meet. This is the most effective, as you get the chance to persuade your MP how important Ditch Dirty Development is, and can immediately address any questions they have.
Before you meet your MP, phone Bronwen in the P&P office for the latest campaign developments and advice on how to approach your MP: 01865 245678
How to contact your MP
Find your MP at www.theyworkforyou.com. From here you should find a link to their own website (if they have one), or you can email them using a web form. To set up a meeting contact your MP’s office to arrange a time. If there will be a group of you going, let them know how many of you there will be.
Remember, your MP represents you. They have a responsibility to meet you, listen to your concerns and act on them.
What to ask your MP to do
It will be important to lobby your MP throughout the year. What you can ask them to do will change, and we will keep this page updated with the most urgent actions. Some MPs will already be supportive of the campaign as many signed an Early Day Motion (EDM) calling for an end to development aid for oil. Find out if you MP signed this EDM on the EDM website.
The most important thing is to keep the issue live, and MPs can help with this by:
Asking Parliamentary Questions. MPs can ask ministers for information about particular issues.
Requesting an Adjournment Debate. This is a debate in Parliament, in which an MP gets the chance to debate a specific issue with the minister.
Writing to the minister to raise the issue. The more of these letters that ministers receive, the better.
Party politics
There is growing political consensus that development aid is currently being used in a way which doesn’t take climate change into account, and that the use of aid to fund fossil fuel extraction is a practice which must be phased out. Both the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have published policy papers which support Ditch Dirty Development in different ways.
If you’re talking to your MP, refer to the Lib Dem and Tory policy papers to demonstrate the high level of consensus on the issue. Find out more and download both papers from the P&P website
Demand for energy is growing rapidly in the fast-developing economies. These countries have a choice, between investing in infrastructure that could lock them into high greenhouse gas emissions for the next fifty years, or investing in highly energy efficient infrastructure that will help build a low-carbon economy. Zero Carbon Britain — Taking a Global Lead: Liberal Democrat Policy Paper
Priority should be attached to ensuring that the lending available from export credit agencies and multilateral development banks is directed towards investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. Blueprint for a Green Economy, Submission to the Shadow Cabinet, Quality of Life Policy Group
This cross party support is a major step forward for the campaign. We need to use this to push Labour to take the issue on as well. We want to see an end to development aid for oil in all the party manifestos to test how serious the parties are about climate change. To find out more you can download both papers.