Archived press release

UK's biggest ever nationwide MP lobbby

24 June 2003

Trade justice campaigners are set to lobby 500-plus MPs this weekend in the biggest simultaneous lobby of MPs this country has ever seen, co-ordinated by the Trade Justice Movement.

Tens of thousands of campaigners will lobby MPs in their constituencies over 24 hours, between noon on Friday 27 June and noon on Saturday 28 June. They will be asking MPs to demand that the Government take a lead at the forthcoming World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Meeting in rewriting world trade rules to benefit poor countries and the environment. In particular, campaigners will insist that the Government stop backing an expansion of the WTO's powers to include new issues such as investment.

The 24 hour lobby will culminate in a huge symbolic action taking place all over the UK at noon on Saturday. At festivals, rallies and celebrations nationwide, campaigners will hold up scales, the symbol of trade justice.

Glen Tarman, Trade Justice Movement Coordinator, said: "The Government says it wants trade to help end world poverty. Yet they are pushing for policies in the World Trade Organisation that are biased towards rich countries and the West's corporations. This needs to change. We aim to create massive pressure on the Government to change its position for the WTO meeting in Cancun in September."

The Trade Justice Movement will have a big presence at Glastonbury, where headline band Radiohead and other artists will support the campaign. Festival-goers will be able to fax their MPs and support the campaign at the many stunts, stalls and events taking place throughout the weekend at the festival.

Ed O'Brien, Radiohead guitarist, said, "We want to make sure every MP gets a clear message that British voters want the rules on international trade rewritten to make world trade work for the whole world. I would urge anyone who feels strongly about world poverty to join the Trade Justice Movement MP lobby marathon."

Notes

For details of the hundreds of local Scale Up for Trade Justice events, see www.tjm.org.uk/scaleup

The Trade Justice Movement's Mass Lobby of Parliament on 19 June 2002 was the biggest ever such event and was deemed the "most effective" campaign in a biennial survey of MPs. This year's event will involve more campaigners and reach more MPs.

The Trade Justice Movement is a coalition of over 40 organisations campaigning for trade justice - not free trade - with the rules weighted to benefit poor people and the environment. Members include: ActionAid, ACTSA, ADRA-UK, Baby Milk Action, Banana Link, CAFOD, Campaign Against the Arms Trade, CARE International UK, Catholic Institute for International Relations, Christian Aid, Fairtrade Foundation, Find Your Feet, Friends of the Earth, Greenbelt Festival, Harvest Help, MAYC, Methodist Relief & Development Fund, National Federation of Women's Institutes, National Justice and Peace Network, National Union of Students, Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign, One World Action, Oxfam, Peace Child International, People & Planet, Peru Support Group, Rugmark UK, Save the Children, SCIAF, Scottish Catholic Justice & Peace Commission, SPEAK, Student Christian Movement, Tearfund, Tools for Self Reliance, Traidcraft, TUC, UNISON, Unitarian Office of Social Responsibility, United Reformed Church, VSO, War on Want, Women's Environmental Network, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, World Development Movement, and World Vision UK.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust