There are even jobs down there! - Geoff
It's been a big week for 38 Degrees - just take a look at our Save Our NHS billboards up all over the UK. But that's just the latest in a long list of amazing things that nearly 1,000,000 38 Degrees members have helped make happen.
This is an email to update you on all that's going on, and give you a say in what we do together next.
So, please read on for updates on some of the other amazing things you have been part of. Or click here to vote straight away on what we do next. Voting will take a couple of minutes:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/march-2012-poll
PROTECTING OUR NHS
38 Degrees members first voted to make protecting the NHS a big priority in March 2011. By working together we've formed the biggest campaign ever to protect the NHS. Over the last few months we have:
Forced the government to delay their changes and rein in some of the dodgiest parts of their plan
Raised more than £300,000 for over 200 huge billboards to go up across London and the UK
Sent tens of thousands of letters to MPs to demand they publish a secret report into the risks facing the NHS
Raised money to pay for independent lawyers to analyse the government's plans
Contacted members of the House of Lords to make sure they read the latest legal advice
Helped push the NHS e-petition past the 100,000 milestone on the government website
@hentucky on Twitter said "38 Degrees' NHS campaign has been CRITICAL in helping to stop rushed changes."
Should we continue to make our campaign to protect the NHS priority number 1? Have your say here:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/march-2012-poll
GETTING A FAIRER DEAL ON GAS AND ELECTRICITY BILLS
As winter set in, 38 Degrees members voted to prioritise tackling rip-off gas and electricity bills. Since then:
200,000 of us have signed up to switch gas and electricity suppliers. This will be the first time British customers have joined together to bargain to get a better deal on our gas and electricity bills. Together we're taking on the big gas and electricity companies with people power!
Almost 100,000 of us signed a petition which helped shame the gas and electricity companies into dropping their prices - though not by nearly enough!
Christopher emailed about The Big Switch to say "All it takes is a little co-ordination to make people power the most effective force on the market."
Have your say on whether tackling rip-off bills should still be a priority here:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/march-2012-poll
STOPPING MURDOCH'S BSKYB POWER GRAB
38 Degrees members started campaigning against Rupert Murdoch's grab for control of BSkyB back in July 2010. Before we got involved, the government was saying that regardless of the hacking scandal the BSkyB deal would be waved through. We spoke up, and they caved in. It was a huge victory!
Seosaimhín on our blog said "Great work 38 Degrees! Let's show those in Power that the Voice of the People has it's own Power!"
Should we be doing more to keep an independent and democratic media in the UK? Vote here:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/march-2012-poll
STOPPING LUDICROUS BONUSES FOR BANKERS
When plans were announced to award a huge bonus to Stephen Hester, chief executive of RBS, 38 Degrees members were outraged. In 48 hours over 80,000 of us signed a petition asking Hester to refuse his huge bonus. We won and he turned it down.
Suzie on email said "together we can make a difference."
PROTECTING OUR COUNTRYSIDE
38 Degrees members have a strong history of working together to protect England's forests. Over half a million of us signed the petition to stop England's forests being sold off. Together we won.
Since then, we have kept up the pressure:
Over 34,000 of us wrote in to the new Independent Panel on Forestry to tell them to protect our woodlands for future generations.
There are signs it's working: their interim report came out against a sell-off
We're speaking up against local sell-offs of beautiful countryside.Thousands of us signed a petition to stop the sell-off of the stunning Quantock Hills in Somerset. We lost the vote in the local council, but only just - and local 38 Degrees members are working out what we can do next.
Should we be doing more to protect wildlife and the countryside?
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/march-2012-poll
DEFENDING OUR RIGHT TO BE HEARD
Health Minister Simon Burns compared 38 Degrees members to zombies - for emailing their own MPs about risks to the NHS! 38 Degrees members stood together to show Simon Burns that we're citizens not zombies:
Over 90,000 of us signed an open letter to Simon Burns
We chipped in to fund local ads in Simon Burns' constituency, in Chelmsford
Local 38 Degrees members met Simon Burns to make sure he came face to face with us and realised we are citizens who aren't going to take his insults lying down!
Dominique on Facebook said "38 Degrees has given me an opportunity to take an active part in positive change for the first time."
SECURING THE FUTURE OF 38 DEGREES
38 Degrees relies on donations from individual 38 Degrees members to fund all these amazing campaigns. Before Christmas we launched an appeal asking for volunteers to make a regular contribution by direct debit.
Over 2,500 38 Degrees members stepped up and signed up for a direct debit - thank you!
That means we're now far better placed to plan for the future, and can run even more people powered campaigns
Right now we are hiring three more campaigners to serve the 38 Degrees membership, taking the team to 9 staff. That means there will be more staff on hand to research campaigns, build web pages, and work with you to make change happen.
And there's more. 38 Degrees members sent floods of complaints to HMRC complaining about them letting big companies off billions of pounds of tax. We teamed up with Unlock Democracy to email MPs asking them to give constituents the power to recall MPs. We worked with disability charity Scope to challenge damaging cuts to support for sick and disabled people. The list goes on!
Together, almost one million of us are showing that people power really can be a force for change. Your participation, and your leadership, is the key to this success. So please help set the direction for what we do next. Take 2 minutes to vote here:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/march-2012-poll
Thanks for being involved,
David, Becky, James, Cian, Hannah, Johnny, Marie, and the 38 Degrees team.
PS: We can't do everything - we make a difference, and win, because we focus on the big issues we all care about. This poll will help set the direction over the next few months. It will tell the office team where to focus their time researching campaign ideas and opportunities. The shortlist draws from the most popular suggestions made by 38 Degrees members over the past couple of months. Vote now:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/march-2012-poll
PPS:Ever fancied working for 38 Degrees? 38 Degrees needs three amazing people to join our small staff team and help nearly a million 38 Degrees members make their voices heard. Find out more information here:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/jobs
NOTES
For more information on all of these campaigns. Check out the news section of our website: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/blog
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