Lobbying of a different kind

This week Russell Brand condemned the issue of corporate lobbying; in particular he took Rupert Murdoch to task for the practise of lobbying into existence tax loop holes which can then be exploited by the very people who have paid to have them created. At the same time there has been a grass roots lobbying campaign, instigated by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), which has slowly gathered pace.

I have previously remarked on comments made by the chair of the London Fire Authority in the wake of fire fighter demonstrations (see: Staggering Contempt). Most can be forgiven for knowing very little of the current Fire Brigade dispute which has been rumbling on for 3 years but which has received derisory levels of media coverage; the dispute is just one of the many fronts on which every day, working people are fighting against unprecedented government cuts and, like all of these causes, it is worthy of our attention.

Fire fighters are struggling against an assault on our national fire service, they are standing up for a world class service which is being dismantled in the name of austerity; battling for public safety, arguing for the vital seconds which can can mean the difference should anyone of us be unfortunate enough to wake in the night to the raging horror of a fire in the home.

But they are also facing a personal attack. Wages have stagnated in the face of increased living costs and rising inflation, job security has been attacked with 5,000 fire fighter posts gone since 2010 and pensions now the target of a government campaign to wring unsustainable years of service out of personnel - the governments own, independent report has found these proposals to be unworkable. Regardless, Penny Morduant & this coalition Government are ploughing on with changes which will hit men and women 15 or 20 years into a deal which is now deemed subject to attack.

And so the FBU and it's members have undertaken a lobbying campaign; a campaign to raise awareness among MPs and to try and table a commons debate which would see some publicity brought to the issue from outside Westminster and perhaps even some common sense from within. This is lobbying as it should be; men and women alarmed by government proposals approaching their MPs to ask for representation in parliament. And it seems to be working, at the very least it is gathering pace.

Labour front bench MPs Hilary Benn & Lyn Brown supported an early day motion (EDM) put forward by the FBU calling for the Government's proposals to be annulled; an endorsement from Ed Milliband followed. With this support, and lobbying from FBU members, 260 MPs have signed up to the EDM; notably this includes 16 Liberal Democrats who form part of the coalition Government driving through the changes. A deadline of December 11th looms large; the FBU has gone as far as to promise suspending a proposed strike this Tuesday should the Government agree to a debate and vote in the house of commons.

Should the movement succeed it will represent a rare victory for working people in these times of ideological austerity. Sadly Rupert Murdoch and his lobbyists still hold more sway in the corridors of Westminster but perhaps this grass roots lobbying campaign will make a real difference, a chance for democracy to prevail.