Webinar: The Campaign’s Next Phase - a summary
To those who could not join us for the February 1st webinar, please find a summary of the campaign’s next phase. We also have a short catch-up webinar on February 21st, 2022.
Our aims of the webinar.
We currently have the cross-party support of 290 MPs. Our goal is to have at least 400 supportive MPs, which is more than half of the House of Commons.
What is the government’s current position?
The current government has acknowledged the positive effects of the Local Electricity Bill - including economic growth in communities - and they do agree that there is a current cost barrier for those smaller energy companies looking to distribute their energy locally.
You can find our detailed response to the government’s opposing position points in this blog post.
Paths to Success
There are two major paths to success for the Local Electricity Bill. Other grassroots campaigns like ours have passed bills like the Climate Change Act in similar ways.
The first way: Having a house of commons majority. We currently have 291 supportive MPs, but our aim is to have at least 400 MPs in support of the bill.
The second way: We need to get the bill introduced as a ballot bill. We will need to campaign for our bill to be picked up as a ballot bill by one of the MPs who is drawn for the ballot at the start of the new Parliamentary session. Learn more about this process here.
Actions to Take
Write to your MP - We have tools to help you draft an email to your MP and the team will be here to help break down any response you receive.
Sign up one other person - Ask a friend, family member, or neighbour to sign up for our newsletters and keep up with the campaign’s progress.
Write to your councillors - Communities will directly benefit from the bill by allowing localised renewable energy, new jobs for local supply organisations and stronger local economies.
Meet with your MP - Whether you have never written or spoken to your MP does not matter. Get in touch with us if you are interested and we can help you by sending through a short briefing of the bill with tips to grab your MPs attention.
Q&A
The last part of the webinar was a Q&A. Please see below the questions and answers.
Q: How do you convince your council to get behind community energy?
A: Lots of councils are already working with community energy groups. We can give good examples for you to take to your local council to show successes around the country. The Bill has 100 local authorities on board.
Q: How can I get my supportive MP to take more action?
A: Ask a supportive MP is if they will take up the Bill in the ballot if their name is drawn at the start of the session. Learn more about how we plan to make the Bill into law here.
Q: Do you have any advice on meeting with your MP?
A: We have a briefing packet to help you plan and meet with your MP. Get in touch with us if you are interested in the packet.
Q. Will this affect Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland?
A. The Bill does not currently apply to Northern Ireland, as they have a different grid system, but it could in the future. Scottish and Welsh Parliament are not directly involved, however, it would be very helpful to have their support. You can ask your MSP or member of the Senedd to support the bill.
Q; What is the most important thing I can do to help the campaign?
A. Refer to the action list above.
Thank you to all our supporters for your continued work throughout this campaign. Please do let us know if you need anything or have any questions about how to get involved.