Power to the people: Emily Thornberry28 October 2008
Emily Thornberry's job gives her a special insight into how strongly people feel about climate change.
The London MP has heard from hundreds of constituents urging her to support a strong law to tackle climate change.
"The response to [Friends of the Earth climate campaign] the Big Ask in my constituency has been very strong indeed," she says.
"And it's come from all sectors of society."
Clear goal
The Labour MP for Islington South & Finsbury Park feels the Big Ask helped give voice to public concern.
"[It] had a clear goal and they knew how to go about delivering it - which was to put pressure on MPs."
"I think it helped to focus people's concern in a way that was creative and positive."
The response to the Big Ask in my constituency has been very strong indeed, and it's come from all sectors of society
Emily Thornberry MP
The hundreds of letters she received gave Emily the evidence to show Parliament that her constituents wanted change.
"I was talking to [Foreign Secretary] David Miliband about the importance of keeping in contact with our constituents," she recalls.
"I said to him a really good example of this is the Big Ask campaign and he said yes - absolutely spot-on as a campaign."
"I think the Big Ask [is] something which translates what people want into an achievable goal," she says.
"That's very, very important - it makes it into something real that you can ask for and politicians can deliver on."
© Friends of the Earth
