Thursday 5 November 2009

WRC lobby MPs about women with no recourse to public funds

Ange Jones, Networks and Policy Officer at the National Equality Partnership, tells us about meeting her MP:

I met with Diane Abbott, my MP for Hackney and Stoke Newington, as a part of a mass lobby organised by Amnesty for its No Recourse to Public Funds campaign (in partnership with other women’s organisations, such as Southall Black Sisters and WRC).

I’d never taken part in a mass lobby before. I have to say, I think it is a very effective model for, in the very least, getting a quick and direct response from MPs on whether they are willing to support a particular issue.

Seeing other activists having tea or sitting on benches with their MPs, added to my drive to get a good result. Diane, as many had told me, was supportive of the issues and she agreed to two key asks of three, one of which was to speak with Harriet Harman about the proposal that government are reshaping on a solution for women with no recourse.

Amnesty supplied us with lots of good information and I got to meet another woman passionate about women’s equality who lives in my area during the process – so all in all a successful visit to Westminster!

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