Petition – #sign #share #join

Over the last week we’ve left the 1000 signatures milestone in our rear view mirror, with more IRL signatures and even more online. We’re not approaching 500 on the latter. But we still need more before our deadline of 10 November.

We are now asking you to #sign #share #join

First, sign the petiton here , if you have not done so already and if you live, work or study in Manchester.

Second, share it with people you know who live, work or study in Manchester. We’d like you to share with seven people – as we’re asking for a seventh scrutiny committee.

Third join the campaign, even if you have only a little time to spare. Tomorrow we will be posting our task list – a menu of bite-size activities catering for all kinds of availability. Whether you can give 5 minutes, half an hour, or half a day… there will be a way you can help out.

The single point of contact for all this is contact@climateemergencymanchester.net

The big successes we had in the last week included:

  1. Expanding our language coverage, with a video from Juan explaining in Spanish why he signed the petition
  2. Speaking to Manchester Amnesty – a great bunch. We’re always happy to speak at online events. Do invite us.
  3. Launching a guide to accompany the Mayor’s Green Summit – aimed at all citizens wanting to scrutinise climate action at the city-region level

We are also always trying out new things. This week we tried

  1. To better link food and climate… and the petition, with this cracking interview from chef Jackie Kearney.
  2. Printing out posters and sticking them in our windows… and encouraging others to the same
  3. Designing flyers… coming to a fruit and veg bag near you soon

In the coming week, the things we are going to try do:

  1. Launch the Student Climate Handbook
  2. Get some of the nicest beermats we have ever seen (and definitely the best beermats we have designed) under your glasses soon. If you run a bar and would like some, let us know
  3. Deliver flyers into a fruit and veg bag near you!

If you want to get more involved, the Petition Taskforce meets online every Friday, at 3.30pm for an hour long meeting that tries to think creatively and strategically about getting more signatures safely.

 

Basic facts:

In July 2019 Manchester City Council declared a climate emergency.

At the moment climate action gets very little real scrutiny. This means mistakes are buried, missed targets are not reported on, etc.

In the last 2 years the City burned ¼ of its entire carbon budget for the 21st century.

If we get 4000 signatures from people who live, work or study in Manchester City Council’s boundaries, there will be a debate in full council (where all 96 councillors are together) about setting up a seventh scrutiny committee.

We have until November 10th

 

 

6 thoughts on “Petition – #sign #share #join”

  1. Don’t you think Manchester City council has enough on its plate dealing with Covid without this right now? Councils already have obligations to deal with climate change. Another talking shop will solve nothing

    1. Hi Jane,
      thanks for commenting.
      To answer your question first – no, we don’t think that “covid” is an excuse for not doing a lot. Neither does the Labour Party, which just released a grossly misleading advert talking up its climate “action.” You say councils already have obligations to deal with climate change. Thanks, yes, we know that. We also know, from detailed research, which we have turned into many reports, that councils are not keeping those obligations. So, a scrutiny committee would force them to raise their game. If you think it is “another talking shop” that will “solve nothing” then it is up to you to come up with some specific and actionable things that you think will change the lack of progress on climate. We look forward to your reply which details these things.

      1. I think you are misunderstanding what a scrutiny committee does. It has no executive power. The mayor, leader and cabinet make decisions, scrutiny just recommends and the executive can simply ignore these. I’m afraid this proposal will waste everybody’s time and money and achieve nothing

        1. Hi Jane/Judith,
          nope, we’re not misunderstanding at all. We do actually know what we are talking about, having spent most of 2019 (and in my case 10 years) scrutinising Manchester City Council.

          Manchester City Council does not have a mayor. It has a leader and an executive (which is not called a cabinet).

          We are well aware that the executive *currently* ignores scrutiny (we’ve reported on this, we’ve written letters to the Manchester Evening News about this – specifically with reference to the Great Ancoats St debacle of August-September 2019.

          We are also well aware that there is serious discontent among the elected councillors who are not part of the charmed circle.

          We believe that a scrutiny committee is ONE part – not the only part, not necessarily the most important part – of a broader suite of actions and activities that can create real democracy and action. We believe that if the executive had to be speak for two hours a month – instead of about two hours a year – about climate action, then they would start to put some serious resources into the topic, so they were not so exposed. We have no intention to leaving the scrutiny only to elected members. We intent (regardless of whether a scrutiny committee happens or not) to continue with regular, forensic scrutiny, using Freedom of Information Act requests etc.

          You say you are “afraid” the proposal won’t work. We are afraid of climate change. We presume you are too. You have yet, however, to propose a set of actions or demands that are going to be more effective than what we have proposed, despite an invitation to do so. It’s easy to be critical of others’ actions, but perhaps more constructive to propose specific things we should all be campaigning for instead?

          Thanks. If you have something substantive to add, please do reply. If however you are going to tell us things that we (already clearly) understand, perhaps best to not “waste everybody’s time and money and achieve nothing.”

          Marc Hudson

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