Friday, November 14, 2014

Overseas Voting - Take ACTION!

Removal of the 15 limit on Registering to vote for British Elections.
It is important that you take action – see below

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, MP for The Cotswolds is tabling a 10-minute Bill with the above objective on Tuesday December 2nd 2.45 p.m. House of Commons.  He will be supported by Sir Roger Gale and others.
In advance, on December 1st (room W1 House of Commons) there will be a press conference attended by Harry Shindler MBE, who expects to speak.
The House is normally fairly well attended on a Tuesday but we must try to assure that as many MPs are there as possible.
It would be a highly significant milestone if this presentation were to result in a change of law but it is also a necessary step in testing the opinion of MPs from all the major parties. 
The 15 limit on voting for expatriates is a huge deterrent to registering to vote.
The fact that very few expats register to vote is a huge deterrent to politicians to pass a bill removing the limit -
  
A classic chicken and egg situation.
Yet it costs nothing in labour, commitment, money to remove it – why is it not done? 
TAKE ACTION please to ensure a good attendance of MPs.
1.  Select email addresses of your ex-constituency MP from here     http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/

2.  Send this message to him/her/them. 
Encourage Overseas Voting    On Tuesday December 2nd Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, MP for The Cotswolds is tabling a 10-minute Bill with the above objective on at  2.30 p.m. House of Commons.  He will be supported by Sir Roger Gale and others. 
Please attend the House and support the removal of the 15 year limit on voting by British Citizens Abroad.
This limit is a massive deterrent to registration to vote. 
The removal will send a message of goodwill to the citizens abroad from the British Parliament – and reassure the citizens abroad that they are valued.

Take action 2. Persuade Friends and Relatives in the UK to send this  to their MPs.

The ten-minute rule Bills are one of the ways in which backbench MPs (private Members) can introduce legislation. However, the process is used more as a means of making a point on the need to change the law on a particular subject as there is little parliamentary time available. They mainly provide the opportunity for MPs to test Parliament's opinion on a particular subject.
The ten minute rule allows a brief introductory speech of no more than ten minutes and one of the same length opposing the motion to be made in the House of Commons after question time on Tuesdays and Wednesdays when the House is likely to be full. Not all Ten Minute Rule Bills are printed.
To register to vote go to.. https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote



Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Message on Poppy Day - from Harry Shindler

Harry Shindler MBE 
sends
this message to all Members of Parliament
Please will you do likewise?

Click on the image to enlarge- To return press 'esc'
please CIRCULATE widely
The jpg document 'A Thought on Poppy Day' can also be downloaded from www.lefourquet.net/PoppyDay.jpg


To go to the INDEX of this blog click on Index

Saturday, November 1, 2014

THE WINTER FUEL PAYMENT- DWP deception


THE WINTER FUEL PAYMENT (Allowance)
and the deception by the Department of Works and Pensions.
 Below in this mail are two links to documents compiled by one of our team of fighters for democratic justice for British Expatriates - In this instance those of us who are retired and are Resident in Europe.
Roger Boaden M.B.E. (the author)  has had a career working in the Conservative Central Office, London.    Roger organised and managed 3 General Election Campaign Tours for Sir Edward Heath, and 3 for Lady Thatcher, between 1970 and 1987.  Quite clearly Roger knows the workings of the political system in Westminster from the inside.  He now lives in retirement in  the Haute-Vienne.
The first attachment  link is a letter addressed to Steve Webb MP - Minister of State for Pensions,
The second is a further exposure of the manipulation of statistics by the Department of Works and pensions under the leadership of Iain Duncan Smith.  It particularly draws attention to the anomaly of, and blindness of the DWP to the
situation in, Ireland in comparison to the other States of the European Union.
THE ATTACHMENT LINKS ----

Mailed on behalf of the Campaign www.votes-for-expat-brits.com
*********+++++++**************
It is so important that as many of us as possible take action in these matters. You can copy and send this mail - down to the ***asterisks**** -and add some preamble of your own to your/some MP at Westminster.
Roger is of course sending his documents to selected politicians by email and also by letter post.
The addresses of politicians are to be found here -- www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/