Will Cummings go?

[MJsGhost]

It may seem futile - it may even be futile - but all MPs are sensitive about keeping their jobs, so even if your MP is as useless as a dog turd, she will still notice - and have to think about it - if she gets a lot of correspondence flooding in to her office. These things do get reported back, through the whips and other channels. Boris may never see your letter, but you can bet your bottom dollar he'll know if his MPs are getting hundreds of complaints.

So, don't think "For whatever good it would do" - look on it more like one more nail in the coffin. Whether they'll be enough nails, who knows, but ..............................

Agreed - that's precisely the reason I did it. As a whip herself, she has a slightly shorter route through the chain of command, so who knows...?

She has a pretty thin majority here in Lewes, so she has more reason than most to worry about the long term damage to her job prospects (it's a shame we're such a long way off being able to vote her out).

I mentioned I have a garden, so she will doubtless think I'm a dyed in the wool Tory whose vote she needs to keep hold of...

 

[Thunder Bolt]

For all the good it will do, I have just written to Maria Caulfield.

As someone who voted against the improved pay deal for NHS workers at the behest of her bosses (despite being a former nurse and being in favour of the improved deal herself), she's not likely to rock the boat on this one either.

It did, however, feel a little bit cathartic to put my thoughts down in writing and send them to someone who (in theory) can help do something about it.

I did too, but as she is an assistant whip, she will be advising the standard replies for all the other MPs. At lease we've done our bit.

 

[highflyer]

It may seem futile - it may even be futile - but all MPs are sensitive about keeping their jobs, so even if your MP is as useless as a dog turd, she will still notice - and have to think about it - if she gets a lot of correspondence flooding in to her office. These things do get reported back, through the whips and other channels. Boris may never see your letter, but you can bet your bottom dollar he'll know if his MPs are getting hundreds of complaints.

So, don't think "For whatever good it would do" - look on it more like one more nail in the coffin. Whether they'll be enough nails, who knows, but ..............................

Lot's of genuine, personal messages, from angry constituents are about the only thing guaranteed to get the attention of MPs.

Orchestrated email campaigns have to hit the million + mark before they get close to the impact of a few hundred angry local voters.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Ah, the tolerant, silent majority:

[tweet]1264971867523354635[/tweet]

The bishop of Newcastle has too. She's a toon fan, incidentally.

[tweet]1265005964777979904[/tweet]




Just to add, do these people, who are making the threats, not realise that bishops sit in the House of Lords?

 

[Hugo Rune]

Tough morning for Pob.

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What kind of idiots do the ruling elite take us for? Laughing at the absurdity of his own lie, disgraceful!

 

[GT49er]

Lot's of genuine, personal messages, from angry constituents are about the only thing guaranteed to get the attention of MPs.

Orchestrated email campaigns have to hit the million + mark before they get close to the impact of a few hundred angry local voters.

I believe the on-line petition has got a shedload on board.

 

[SeagullinExile]

I believe the on-line petition has got a shedload on board.

710, 000

 

[Jim in the West]

It may seem futile - it may even be futile - but all MPs are sensitive about keeping their jobs, so even if your MP is as useless as a dog turd, she will still notice - and have to think about it - if she gets a lot of correspondence flooding in to her office. These things do get reported back, through the whips and other channels. Boris may never see your letter, but you can bet your bottom dollar he'll know if his MPs are getting hundreds of complaints.

So, don't think "For whatever good it would do" - look on it more like one more nail in the coffin. Whether they'll be enough nails, who knows, but ..............................

I think I mentioned earlier on this thread that I'd decided to write to my MP. We live in a rural constituency in Somerset, and our MP almost never rocks the boat. In fact, I doubt he has ever voted against the advice of the government whips. Anyway, he responded to me today to say that "over the last 72 or so hours, I’ve received around a thousand emails (with many more letters and phone calls) expressing distress at the idea that the sacrifices they and their families have made during lockdown have been devalued." He goes on to say:

"I don’t doubt that Dominic Cummings felt that he was doing the best for his family – something that we can all understand. I don’t think he took the trip to Durham blithely or light-heartedly. But I do feel that the symbolism inherent in a Downing Street adviser choosing to interpret rather than follow the regulations he helped to fashion is damaging. It risks compromising the lockdown at a point where we are seeing very real progress and has upset many who feel they weren’t given equivalent leeway when facing personal distress of their own. It’s for this reason that I now feel the Government would best be served by Dominic Cummings’ removal. I have no personal animus against him (indeed, we’ve never met), but, as I said on the BBC yesterday, I believe his presence now damages the Government and country he is trying to serve."

If you feel strongly about this issue, then it definitely IS worth writing to your MP.

 

[A1X]

[TWEET]1265249305163714568[/TWEET]

 

[GT49er]

Ah, the tolerant, silent majority:

Shit coming out in support of other shit................

 

[dazzer6666]

Regardless of whether he resigns or not, don't think Sky News should be harassing his parents.

https://twitter.com/NSP55/status/1265043854283210758?s=20

 

[highflyer]

I believe the on-line petition has got a shedload on board.

Which is great. But I have been told by several people in a position to know, that it will be the angry letters and emails from individual constituents pouring in that will have MPs in a panic. They are not used to real people actually giving a genuine sh*t about stuff. And when it happens it scares te bejesus out of them.

Maybe I was wrong in an earlier post and this isn't done yet.

 

[Nitram]

710, 000

That’s good, I signed it a few days ago when it had 76,000

 

[Nitram]

Which is great. But I have been told by several people in a position to know, that it will be the angry letters and emails from individual constituents pouring in that will have MPs in a panic. They are not used to real people actually giving a genuine sh*t about stuff. And when it happens it scares te bejesus out of them.

Maybe I was wrong in an earlier post and this isn't done yet.

Yes if you have a Tory MP it will make a difference, if you don’t you might as well sign the petition.

 

[Bakero]

Regardless of whether he resigns or not, don't think Sky News should be harassing his parents.

https://twitter.com/NSP55/status/1265043854283210758?s=20

Not a good look. Only serves to aid those trying to fuel a Trump-style distrust of the media.

 

[highflyer]

Yes if you have a Tory MP it will make a difference, if you don’t you might as well sign the petition.

Fair point

 

[RossyG]

Playing “normal person”, that’s obviously ****ing bullshit, and 95% of people seem to know that.

I doubt if 95% have heard of Darren Grimes.

 

[Fungus]

I can imagine that you would prefer to spend 3-months of lockdown in a nice rural location with lots of open space, rather than a flat in London.

Luckily his wife was sick (but not with Covid-19 symptoms), so that they then both expected they would both get Covid-19 and not be able to look after their child, such that there would be a future immediate threat to life. This meant they were able to head to this alternative location, in order to self isolate from the risk of having Covid-19 and the future potential immediate threat to life, despite not having any symptoms of it.

 

[zefarelly]

Tim Loughton?


Odious man,

Quite

I'm not in any way a violent person but I have been extremely tempted to go and punch his smug face in when he hangs around the farmers market lowering the tone of the town.

 

[Pinkie Brown]

"Balance". In the same way they always had to have Nigel Lawson on to debate climate science with actual climate scientists because they couldn't find anyone else.

The difference being, Lawson is an ex chancellor and senior statesman. I don't agree with any of his views but I respect his right to be there as an experienced former politician. The likes of Grimes, Tom Harwood and Kate Andrews are no mark right wing shills from shady lobby groups with agenda who's funding is a tangled web. Their puppet-masters obviously have sway in the higher echelons of BBC & Sky to get their talking heads a voice. Having said that, Grimes getting chewed up by Adam Boulton yesterday was entertaining and a pitiful sight. A total mismatch.