Backed by popular demand: Diane Abbott MP28 October 2008
High profile Labour MP and broadcaster Diane Abbott is also a long-term supporter of action on climate change.
On this she knows she has the backing of people in her area.
"The Big Ask had a massive response in Hackney," says the MP for the North London constituency.
"I think I got more correspondence about that than any single campaign for years and years."
[It] probably reflects the strength of the Big Ask campaign [...] that Gordon Brown has reorganised Government to have a ministry with particular responsibility for climate change
Diane Abbott MP
People power
Diane says MPs must weigh public concern before taking action.
But she says the Big Ask helped people to get their voice heard at the highest level.
"I think people are sometimes put off by the political process and can't see how it could work for them," she says.
"A campaign like the Big Ask does offer people a way of directly affecting the political process."
Tough law
With evidence of public support Diane joined other MPs in pushing for a Climate Change Bill tough enough for the job.
She says the groundbreaking law to slash greenhouse gas emissions is the first step in a long journey.
"We've got to get the public to buy in not just to the goals of the legislation - but what it means to implement those goals."
Public feeling
The Big Ask put politicians in touch with public feeling on climate change, she says.
"I think [it] probably reflects the strength of the Big Ask campaign, and other campaigns on climate change, that Gordon Brown has reorganised Government to have a ministry with responsibility for climate-change issues."
"That wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for the strength of feeling."
© Friends of the Earth
