Submit Response is a weblog by Jack Mottram, a HearFromYourMP
HearFromYourMP is another useful democracy-enhancing website from MySociety.org:
Between elections the internet is really starting to challenge politics as usual. As part of this change, we’d like to put you in touch with your new MP. Not for a specific purpose, but in order to hear what they’re working on, to debate their thoughts in a safe, friendly environment, and generally to build better, more useful relationships between constituents and their MPs.
If you enter your details, we’ll add you to a queue of other people in your constituency. When enough have signed up, your MP will get sent an email. It’ll say “20 of your constituents would like to hear what you’re up to – hit reply to let them know.” If they don’t reply, nothing will happen, until they get an email which says there are now 100 people; 200 people; 500 people – until it is nonsensical not to reply and start talking.
When your MP replies, it won’t be one-way spam, and it won’t be an inbox-filling free-for-all. Instead, each email will have a link at the bottom, which will take you straight to a forum where the first post will contain the MP’s email. There’ll be no tiresome login – you can just start talking about what they’ve said. Safe, easy and democratic.
When I signed up I brought the total number of users in my constituency to 19, so only one more Glasgow North constituent needs to join in before we find out whether Anne McKechin (Labour, fairly Blairite voting record) will respond.
Related posts: Write To Them, Write To Them, They Write Back
I’m the 13th person in my constituency to want to know what Sarwar is up to. Only 7 more to go and the full 2005 turnout will be signed up then.
Posted by c0NZ at 8pm on 20.10.05