Crunch time: Day of Action for NHS protection from trade deals

National Day of Action on NHS TRADE BILL AMENDMENTS - MONDAY 7TH dECEMBER 

It's crunch time! On Monday 7th December, the Trade Bill will be voted on in the House of Lords, and shortly afterwards it will be back in the Commons.

In July, MPs voted against scrutinising trade deals by a margin of 326 to 263.

We need YOUR help to persuade 100 key Conservative MPs to REBEL against the government, to take back control and to give themselves the power to PROTECT our NHS in trade deals.  

Trade deals will affect our NHS unless MPs can - at the very least - scrutinise them to make sure our NHS is protected. Whether you live in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, trade deals put your NHS at risk.

We're still keeping the pressure up on the Lords, but we also need to act NOW to make sure that MPs also get the message for when they get to vote on the Trade Bill. We might only have a matter of days between the debate in the Lords and the Commons, so we need to be lightning fast to persuade them.

Join in - deliver a Christmas card to a Conservative and let's force them to listen.

Many have signed up to deliver a Christmas card to one of our target list of 100 Conservative MPs, calling on them to protect our NHS. Now it's time to get the actions organised!

Please join our Day of Action to say: All we want for Christmas is NHS protection!

Here's a step by step:

1. If you can make 9am, organise with other people, perhaps with We Own It campaigners you've been put in contact with (if there were others who could also go to the MP office you signed up to) or people from your household, to meet at the office of the MP you offered to go to when signing up on the google form. More than one person is good for a press photo. You might need two or three different slots will be needed if your group is too big. The office addresses can be found here! This action is socially distanced and outside, however we completely understand if this doesn't feel possible to you in current circumstances  or in your tier to meet people outside your household. 
2. Download and print a Christmas Card to take with you - each person needs one, ideally printed in colour and if possible, bigger than A4! Remember to bring a camera!
3. Remember to check out guidelines on how to stay safe and stay socially distanced. Gloves, hand sanitiser and masks are a must and We Own It can reimburse you for them! 
4. Email us to confirm that your action is organised - we can lead on supporting with local press! Just email Chris at Christopher@weownit.org.uk
5. Make sure to email your MP this week with a friendly email (a template here) to let them know that you will be taking action and how you hope they will respond, by voting in favour of the NHS amendment and the scrutiny amendment.
6. On the day, make sure to share your photos with us at info@weownit.org.uk as quickly as possible! Share the action on social media too, tagging We Own It on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram too, as well as your MP!

Can't make an action at 9am?

It would be amazing if you could still go to the MP's office, as early as possible in the day so that we could still send your photo to press! You could take a photo, ideally with you in it, holding up the card (see the step by step above!) in front of their office (make this as obvious as possible in the photo), and/or posting the card! You can send this to info@weownit.org.uk and share on social media please! Make sure to tag us on Twitter and Facebook, as well as your MP of course!

You can include the caption: 

Please (MP's name), All we want for Christmas is NHS protection. Please vote in favour of the NHS protection and scrutiny amendment!