adopt an mp draft1

8/9/2019 Adopt an Mp Draft1

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uthclimatecoalitionadopta

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uk youth climate coalition | adopt an mp


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climatecoalitionadoptanmp

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t cpg

1. hw es a mp wr?

2. Therststeps

3. Whatareallthesepolicalterms?

4. hw ( w) lbb mp

5. YourMPisahuman

6. Howtotalkclimate7. hw wrie blg

8. ExtractfromAnnaCollinsAdoptaNegoatorblog

9. hw e websie wrs

Rsrs

10. TemplateleertoyourMP

11. AdoponCercate


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t cpg

AdoptandMPisassimpleasitsounds.

We aim to get 650 young people from every

constuency in the UK to adopt their localMP

andtrackthemastheytrytomakeclimatechange

eir riri.

WithawaveofrstmeMPsandanewcoalion

governmentthereistheenergywithinParliament

forthistoworkandit'stheperfectmetotellour

storyandinspireourMPsintoacon.

This is not a tradional campaign with a set

outcomeand agenda. This isabout people and

creang a real and lasng relaonship that will

bedierent for everyperson involved. Likeany

newrelaonshipitwilltakeme,paence,trust

andalilelove(!)tomakethiswork,butthrough

monthly acons and sharing your experiences

onlinethroughadoptanmp.org,weknowwecan

makethishappen.

Everymonthwewillsendourtrackersanaconto

becompletedoverthenextfewweekswithenough

metowriteaboutitonline.Thewebsitewillbe

really easy toadd toand become an invaluable

resourceforlocalandnaonalclimateacon.Themonthlyaconswillbesimpleandachievableand

thecollecveimpactofthatineveryconstuency

will be ge.

It'snotaboutcricismorpraise,butremembering

thatMPsarehumansandsupporngthemtomake

astandandghtforadierencewhenitcomesto

localissuesandnaonalpolicytocreatetheclean,

fair,futurethatweneed.

The focus is local, but the impact is global and

together we have an opportunity to make a

dierenceonascaleneverseenbeforeintheUK!

t c

Whether youve been involved in the climate

changeworldforyears,orifthisistherstthings

youvegotinvolvedwith,AdoptanMPisdesigned

totaroundyourlife.Thecampaignisaboutyou

andyourMP,notaboutustryingtoachieveaset

outcomeand its this exibility and individuality

thatwillhopefullymakeitasuccess.

We w is be b r mp wrig

togetherandcreangarelaonshiptotakeforward

theissueofclimatechangewhereyouliveandto

sre lie.

Everymonthwewillsendyouanacon,butthis

is a guide. Every constuency and tracker will

have a dierent way ofworking and well oer

suggesons,ps, andadvice,butulmately youcanmakethiswhateveryouwant. Allwe ask is

thatyoublogaboutitontheway!

As a rough guide, being involved will take up

around5hoursamonth.


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t c

Whenyoubecomeatracker,youjoinacommunityof650fellowyoungpeoplealltryingtoachievethe

samethingfromacrosstheUK.Youarenotalone!Aswellasbeingsupportedbyalltheothertrackers,

theUKYCCteamarealwaysheretohelpandwillbeonhandtosupportyoueverystepoftheway.

If you need us at any me, just drop us a line at [email protected] and well get rightback

toyou!

ThemostimportantthingabouttheAdoptanMPcampaignisthatyouandyourMPenjoyit.This

shouldbefun;andifitisnt,somethinghasgonewrong!WewantyoutobefriendswithyourMP,to

shareyourconcerns,yourpassionandyourvisionwiththemandmakethemcarebecauseyoucare.

Thisresourcepackisjustaguidetohelpgetstarted.Inrealitythecampaignwilllookdierentinevery

constuencyintheUKandthatsexactlyhowitshouldbe.

Allweaskisthatyoutellusyourstory!Writeablog,recordavideo,sendusapoem,asong,arap,a

picture,anythingthatsharesyourstoryasyouadoptyourlocalMP.

Gd !

te gs gls ukycc


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Therststepsarealwaysthemostdaunngbutwevebrokenitdowninto10easy

pointstokickotheadoponprocess:

1.HaveareadoftheResourcePack,pokearoundthesiteandlearnallabouttheAdoptan

MPproject.

2.Signuptobecomeatrackeratadoptanmp.org(Wellgiveyouaccessyourconstuencypagesoyoucanbeginbloggingimmediately!)

3.Writeashortpieceaboutwhyyouwantedtobeinvolvedandwhatyourehopingtogetoutofthis.

4.FindyourMPandsendthemaleeradopngthemandaskingforameeng.

5.Meetwiththem!

6. HandovertheAdoponCercateandgrabaphoto!

7.Writeablogaboutyourmeenganduploadthephoto.

8. GiveyourlocalnewspaperandradioacallandtellthemyoureadopngyourMPandallaboutthe

projectandwhyyouwanttobeinvolved.

9.Ontherstofeverymonth(StarngfromJuly1st)wellemailyoutheaconforthenextmonth.

10.Getcrackingwithaconsandkeeptellingusallaboutyourexperiences!


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W mP d fr ?

Soweveallheardthehorrorstoriesaboutmoatsandduckponds,seentheoldmenshoungatone

anotheronTV,andknowalilebitabouttheweirdtradionsthatdominateourgovernment.Itcanall

seemjustalilebitdetachedfromtherealWorld.

Butwhateveryouthinkofallthat,whenitcomestopushingforaclean,fairfuture,yourMPisdenitely

someoneworthhavingonboard.YourMP(MemberofParliament)iselectedroughlyevery5yearsand

hasthejobofrepresenngyou,andeveryoneelseinyourconstuencyinParliament.Thismeansthat

itishisorherjobtolistentotheconcernsoftheirconstuentsandtospeakupfortheminParliament,

makingsurethatthebestdealforthosepeoplecanbeachieved.

OnceanMPhasdecidedontheviewheorshewilltake(whichshouldnotbebasedontheirpersonal

viewsbutontheviewsofthosetheyrepresent),thereareanumberofaconstheycantake:

WritetoaMinisteronyourbehalf,andforwardyouthatMinisterspersonalresponse.

AskaParliamentaryquesonwrienororally.

SpeakinadebateintheHouseofCommons.

TableanEarlyDayMoon,orsignanexisngone.

VotefororagainstBillsgoingthroughParliamentandchangesmadetothemastheygothrough,or

evensuggestachangeoftheirown.

ProposeaPrivateMembersBillwhichcanbecomeanActofParliament(creangacompletelynew

lw).

YoucanbethedrivingforcebehindgengyourMPtodoanyoneofthesethings.Preyexcingno?

Nowyouneedtoconsiderhow!

Making frst contact

SteponeistondoutwhoyourMPis.Gototheyworkforyou.comanduseyourpostcodetosearch.This

pagewillthentellyouwhoyourMPisandwhichpartytheybelongto,aswellasgivingcontactdetails.

YourrstcontactwithyourMPislikelytobeviaaleerore-mail.Thisisagoodmeansofmaking


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contact,asitmeansthatyoureabletoputacross

yourideasinalogicalandcoherentway.

Whenwring,makesureyouinclude:

YournameandaddressyourMPneedstobe

abletoseethatyouliveintheirconstuency-ifyou

dont,theycanthelpyou..

Setoutyourmainpointsniceandclearly.

Requestameeng.

Beraonal,andgivereasonswhyheshouldlisten

toyou,butdontpretendtobeanexpertifyourenot.Aleerfromaconcerned,informed,ordinary

personwilloenbealotmoreeecvethanlots

ofwae.ItisworthrememberingthatyourMP

maywellbereceivingleersfromtheopposing

sie rs.

Ifyouarecampaigningforsomething,include

reasonswhythiswouldbebenecialtothe

constuencyand/orthecountryasawhole.If

youarecampaigningagainstsomething,oeranalternavesoluonifyouhaveone,orareason

whysomethingisunnecessary.

Dontwasteyourmewithnegavityorgeng

angry.Ifyoucomeacrossasanunreasonable

person,thenyouremovethesinglemostimportant

reasonforthemtolistentoyou.Putyourpoint

acrossrmlyandforcefully,butdontberudeand,

nomaerhowbaditgets,savetheswearingfor

we ge sie.

Thinkabitaboutstyleandpresentaon-howdo

youwanttocomeacross?Considerthingslike

whetherahandwrienortypednotewouldbe

moreeecve-areyoutryingtobeformal,orto

makemoreofapersonalconnecon?Headed

notepaper,orhandmadecard?Wouldaphotoor

newspaperclippingstrengthenyourcase?

Tomakelifealilesimpler,attheendofthispackyoullndatemplaterstleertoyourMPthat

explainsexactlywhatAdoptanMPisandthatyou

wantameeng!


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Follow-up acons

Remembertobeagoodschmoozer,evenifyou

didntagreeoneverything.Thisisallaboutbuildingarelaonshipandtrustthatcandevelop

overme!IfyoumanagedtomeetyourMP,

sendhimafriendlythankyounotealongwitha

reminderofwhattheysaidtheywoulddo.Ifyou

promisedtosendthemanyfurtherinformaon,

nowsyourechance.

Sr r ws

IfyouhearbackfromyourMPinwring,wedlove

tohearaboutit!

Ablogarcle,anywrite-upsornotesaer

ameengwithyourMParegreattoo.By

bringingtogetherthissortofinformaonfrom

constuenciesacrossthecountry,wecanbuildup

apictureofdierentMPsthink,andhowacve

theyareandthatgivesusrealpowertogether.

Meeng your MP

Asaconstuent,youhavetherighttorequesta

meengwithyourMP.YouwillneedtobookthiswithhisconstuencyorParliamentarysecretary.

YourMPprobablyholdsweeklysurgerieslocallyon

Friday,butcanmeetyouattheHouseofCommons

atothermes.

If you are successful in getting a

meeting, you should:

UsetheInternettosearchforinformaonon

yourMP.Whataretheirpolicalinterestsand

priories?Whataretheirpartyspolicies?Where

doeshestandonclimatechangeandgreen

eerg?

Thinkthroughwhatyouwanttocoverinthe

meeng.Hewillaskyouquesons,somake

sureyouknowenoughthatyoucomeacross

passionateandinformed.Youmaywanttotakea

reportorleaettohelpgetyourpointacross-over

thecourseoftheyear,theUKYCCwillproduce

briengsyoukeepyousuppliedwiththelatestinfo

andarguments.

Developthreemainpointsthatyouwant

tomake,andhammerthemhome-dont

overcomplicatethingsorgivethemroomtofob

youo.

Knowwhatyouwanthimtodoasaresultofthe

meeng.

On a practical level!

Makesureyoureonme

Berealiscabouthowmuchyoucancover.

UsethemewiselyifyourMPfeelsitwasa

wasteofme,youmightsuddenlynditdicult

toarrangeameenginfuture!


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Whenitcomestointeracngwiththoseinpower

itisohsoeasytofocusonpolicyandissuesand

forgetthatthepersonyouaretalkingtoisindeed

ahumantoo!

Butitsalsoimportantthatwedontforgetthat

eier.

Becauseinfactoneofthejoysofbeingyoungis

thatwearefulloflife,emoonsandpassion.Why

shouldwelosethatjustbecauseweareinthe

knowandtalkingaboutpolicy?Andwhyshould

wethinkthatMPsarenotfullofpassionand

emoontoo?(eveniftheydontactlikeitmostof

theme!)

SonowyouveadoptedyourMPtreatthemlikeafriend,talktothemasyouwouldafriend,tell

themhowyoufeelandaskthemhowtheyfeel.

WeoncestumpedEdMillibandbyaskinghim

howhefelt,ratherthanwhathethoughtandit

denitelycaughthimout!Wealsorappedathim

too,butthatsanotherstory...

Weinteractsomuchbeerwitheachotherona

personalandemoonallevelandpoliciansareno

dierent.AndanywayyourenotanMP,yourea

youngperson,soactlikeit.

Sonextmeyoudontknowwhattosaytoyour

MPtakeaminutetothinkabouthowyoufeel,

thentellthemthatandseewhattheysay.Then

ell s ll.

Ifwebrokedownthebarriersandreallyallgot

toknoweachotheritwouldbealoteasierto

understandeachother.WhenyouandyourMP

seeeachotherashumansitwillbealotharder

forthemtolookyouintheeyeandmakelame

excuses!

Whenyouretellingotherpeoplewhatyoure

upto,bethatinblogs,interviews,orjusttalking

aboutyourMP,dontforgetthatthestoriesthat

peoplelikebestarethehumaninterestones(thats

whywerealladdictedtoHeatMagazine!).So

giveusthem.Wewanttohearthehumanside

ofthestory,notjustthepolicy.Tellushowyou

feltmeengyourMPfortherstme,wereyou

nervous,didtheyseeminterested,whatweretheywearing,didtheytreatyouasanequal?

Ouroneuniquesellingpointisthatweareyoung

andthisinitsverynaturemeanswehavealicense

toactlikeit!YourMPneedstoknowyouareclued

up,informedandserious,butthatdoesnotmean

youcantjoke,laughandtreatthemlikeaperson.

y re ssie b is will sie

thoughhoweveryouact.

Letyouryouthshinethroughwitheveryperson

youtalkto,believeuswhenwetellyouitsgotus

far!

Aerallinthisamazingfuturewearecreang

werehopingtheresgoingtobealotoffunand

laughtersowhyshouldntweactlikeitnow!


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Intodaysworldweallhavetheopportunitytogetourthoughts,feelingsandexperiencesouttherefor

otherstoread.Blogsallowusthespacetowriteandpublishwhatwewanttosay,withoutbeingeditedby

e else.

ButwhetheryouarebloggingfortheGuardian,onyourownpageorforushereatUKYCCtheaimistowrite

somethingthatpeopleread,takenoceof,andifneededacton.Togetthemtodothatyouneedtomake

sureyourewringandpresenngyourblogsinawaythatisappealingtopeople,inawaythatmakesthem

rememberwhatyouvesaid,notclicktoanotherpagehalfwaythroughreading.

With that in mind here are our 5 top tips for writing a blog:

1.500 words is PERFECT.anywherebetween5001000isok,anythingover1000everyone

hasstoppedreading.(yesweknow,thisisthemostbrokenruleofblogging!Butbelieveusanditwillsave

youalotofwastedmeandeort.)

2. Break it up. Blogsaremeanttobereadquickly,bigblocksoftextputpeopleo,writeconciselyanduseshortparagraphsformaximumeect

3. Always include a picture.Wereallsmallchildrenatheartanditsreallytrueapicture

saysathousandwords.Evenifthepictureisntcompletelyrelevantithelpstomakeyourbloglookmore

interesng!

4. Find your own style.Yourenotwringforapapersoitsperfectlyoktowriteasyouwouldspeak,thebestblogsaretheoneswhereyoucanrecognisethestyleofthebloggerandfeellikeyouknow

them.

5. Be personal, tell your story.Ifpeoplewantthenewstheyllreadanewspaper.Ablogis

anopportunityforyoutotellthestoryfromyourpointofviewinyourwords,includepersonalreecons,

anecdotesandanythingelseyouwanttohelpyouconnectwiththereader.


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Frustration, free food and a

fortunate meeting!

Soit turnsout this trackingmalarkeyis actually

rer es

Gotoocialrecepon,getinqueueforadrink,

meet lead negoator! (whydid I never thinkof

this beforeIm Brish, shes Brish where else

wouldwemeetbuttheboozequeue!)

ActuallyIjest,becauseIalwaysgototheocial

recepons(freefoodanddrinkingenerallyoneof

theswankiestbuildingsinthecitywhowouldnt

go?),andIgenerallyneverseeJan.

B ls ig se ws ere. mbe se lsneededtorelaxabit,becauseitseemsitsnotjust

mewhos frustrated with how things are going

anymore.

WehadachataswewaitedforourdrinksandI

think Jan may be quite frustrated too. She was

quicktotellmethatsrd dd g w.

yeser the Africa group walked out of the

discussionsontheKyotoProtocol. te si ewouldnottakepartinanygroupsordiscussions

around the KP, which basically translates to

discussions around emissions reducons, unl

Annex 1 (most developed countries) upped

their numbers. Specically they were referring

to the numbers for mid term (2020) emission

reducons.

Sonowallthesenegoaonshavebeensuspended

unl the issue is resolved and African countriesbroughtbackintothenegoaons.

Thismeansinthelast4daysofnegoaonsbefore

Copenhagenonewholehalfofthisprocessisnot

takingplace!

Thatsnotreallygoodforanyone,asweobviously

needtomoveforwardonthisasquicklyaswecan.

ButtheAfricagroupobviouslythoughttheyhadnootherwayofmakingthepointthatwhatwe

haveonthetableisjustnotgoodenough.

Theyareobviouslyfrustratedtoo.

AllisnotassimpleasitseemsandImslltrying

togetmyheadroundthecomplexiesofwhatthis

allmeansandwherewegonow.Butitseemswe

have quite a situaononour hands. A situaon

thatallthenegoatorsarehavingtodealwith.

Itseemsthefrustraonisbuildingallround,not

justintheacvists.

EverymeImeetJanIrealisewehavemorein

commonthanIcouldeverhaveimagined.

Whatweallknowthough,isnotgenganywhere

isdenatelynottheanswer

Letshopewecanallchannelthisfrustraoninto

somethingconstrucveoverthenextfewdays!

OrwellallbeintheboozequeuecomeCopenhagen!

Our very own Anna Collins was the tracker for Adopt a Negoator where she

adopted, followed and befriended Jan, the the UKs lead negoator at theUN

Climatechangeconferenceslastyear.HeresisoneofAnnasrstblogsaboutthemesherstmetJan...

adopt an mp draft1

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