Friday, April 18, 2008

Still Human Still Here: Mini Lobby of Parliament - Wednesday 14th May 2008

After a fantastic year of campaigning to end the destitution of refused asylum seekers a ‘mini lobby’ of Parliament by STAR and Amnesty members from across the UK will take place on Wednesday the 14th of May.

Why we are lobbying our MPs

To build on the awesome efforts of the STAR and Amnesty networks on Action Day – and the inspiring achievements in demonstrating support for refused asylum seekers living destitute in the UK – a mini lobby will bring together STAR and Amnesty members once again. The mini lobby will be a high profile culmination of STAR national campaigning for the Still Human Still Here campaign. More info about what we are campaigning for can be found here}why_are_we_campaigning_on_destitution_of_refused_asylum_seekers

The ‘mini lobby’ will be in Committee room 20 in Parliament from 12 – 4pm and will be followed by the handover of the 4,000 strong Still Human Still Here petition collected by STAR and Amnesty members on Action Day.

If you would like to get involved in this fantastic opportunity and can join the network on May 14th, then we have all the resources and info you need right here. Al you need to do is get in touch with your MP and request a meeting with them. A model letter can be found below. To find out who your local MP is you can check out the Locata website. They Work for You is also useful.

You can download all the resources here:

Mini Lobby Action Guide

Mini Lobby: Letter to MPs

Guide to holding a successful lobby

What will be happenning on Wednesday 14th May

  • Meeting at Westminster tube station at 10.30 before going off for a slice of cake and an opportunity for a pre-lobby briefing.
  • At 11:40 we will be entering Parliament and setting up in our venue for the afternoon, Committee Room 20.
  • During the day there will be speeches whilst we wait to be joined by the MPs of those attending the ‘mini lobby’.
  • Throughout the afternoon we will have the chance to meet MPs to raise our concerns about the forced destitution of refused asylum seekers and to ask them to write to the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith.
  • At 4pm we will walk the short distance to the Home Office, where we will present the Still Human Still Here petition with all the signatures collected on Action Day
  • After this we will be able to chill out after a busy day before heading home.

If you can attend the lobby on the 14th or if you have any questions about the lobby and how you can get involved, please e-mail John at the STAR National Support Office:
stillhuman(AT)star-network.org.uk
You can also call John on 0208 980 7036 (Ext 202)

Posted by STAR team on 18/04/2008 at 11:17 AM