Lobbying tips for Palestine Lobby Day

Friend on Facebook (*|FACEBOOK:PROFILEURL [$format=text]|*) Follow on Twitter (*|TWITTER:PROFILEURL [$format=text]|*) Give us your feedback

- Email your MP to request a meeting with them.

- Have a look at / print out this map of parliament so you know where to head on the day.

- Spread the word in your local area with this flyer .

-------------------------------------------

We will be happy to meet you on the day if you let us know in advance you’ll be coming. Last year there were about 100 MP’s lobbied and we are hoping to reach at least this again this year.

- Mass campaigns aren’t as effective on foreign affairs issues however. By far the best way to get through is with a personal message. - Including a call to action in your message is useful. - Brevity. Keep your communications clear by sticking to just a few issues. - Ask specific Q’s for your MP to respond to.

-------------------------------------------

- The volume of correspondence to MP’s has risen by 300 – 400% in the last 4 yrs so there is a lot to get through and it may take your MP two – four weeks to respond, but you should expect a response - The international community has a role to play in demanding justice for Palestine and in highlighting that apartheid doesn’t belong in the modern world. There is an obvious injustice that isn’t easy to ignore in Israel’s colonization, whilst occupying then continuing to dictate everything about how Palestinians live their lives. - Lots of MPs (including all party leaders have said they) are uncomfortable about BDS however it is clear government policy that the settlements are illegal under international law and our government has condemned settlement expansion. Politicians agree that goods should be labeled even if they don’t support BDS, so here you can ask if they recognize that produce made in the OPT are illegal under international law. It was suggested that one then ask why simply labeling them would be acceptable? Ie: why are they even stocked in your local shops? Can they push for us not to allow the import of illegal goods? This is in turn logical and consistent with our policy on international law.

-------------------------------------------

- Come armed with an up-to-date map, such as one of the ones attached here (explaining the Matrix of Control), here (indicating loss of land) and here (a closer look at borders). - Research your MP before going as it is useful to know in advance who you’re dealing with. Are they involved already in organisations such as the Conservative Middle East Council, Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East, Lib Dem Friends of Palestine and the Middle East? There are of course also support groups for Israel. - Get a flavour of their driving interests and motives, can you pin your lobbying on specific issues that resonate with them (housing, medical care, the economy, education, etc)?

- Find out if your local council has contracts with Veolia that need highlighting?

-------------------------------------------

- Some members of constituencies have raised money before to send their MP out there.

- Can you ask them to go to the next level and get involved with something? Is there anything specific that only they can do? Can they help drive policy change? - Ask them what they’re doing about it? Can they lobby leadership? - Can they ask a written question? (The benefit of these is MP’s can ask these at any time, and they get recorded – so they can send you a copy of the answer if you request it)

- You can ask your MP to host a backbench debate, and then offer to help them with it! You can help gather material and research for their speeches (and of course we can be helpful here too!)

-------------------------------------------

- Perhaps they are more interested in an economic focus? There are some really strong economic arguments - including this recent World Bank report (from Oct ’13), which states that the Occupation is crippling Palestine’s economy.

- Engage with other people your MP might be more inclined to take notice of, other voters (to increase your impact) such as delegations from churches etc. Going with others increases your voice. - Can you get them to recognize that settlements are unlawful?

- Don’t give up! Every member of the public they can engage with is a potential vote for them - Look out for any inconsistencies with what MP’s say / agree to and actually do. And let your local paper know these too! If they’re not behaving as they ought to we have every right to hold them to account (especially if they are to feel that what they say and do matters!) - Lots of MPs conveniently say they don’t sign Early Day Motions as a matter of course, but on this handy website tool you can look up whether they have in the past and how many they’ve signed!

-------------------------------------------

- In this respect your objective is to win friends and influence people! So don’t go in and just criticize, try to engage in a debate and raise issues and awareness. - Don’t necessarily just settle with empathy of the issues – ie. if they support a two state solution ask them how they think this might be brought about? - Don’t forget there are people lobbying hard from the other side too and its important to show your perspective on the issue.

As ever, many thanks for your continued support of ICAHD UK!