With over 600 members in Brighton we’ve been keen to get local and get active. Our fantastic members Alan (who also happens to be our transparency guru!) and Jason booked in some time with their local MP Caroline Lucas to talk about the G8 Summit coming up in June and the opportunity we have to eradicate extreme poverty by focussing on nutrition and transparency.
ONE Members Jason (left) and Alan (right) with Caroline Lucas MP at her constituency office in Brighton. Photo: ONE
Caroline Lucas wrote about the meeting on her blog:
“I had a really interesting surgery appointment recently with local supporters of the ONE organisation. The group here in Brighton is very active and I was impressed by the passion and commitment to action of those who came to last week’s surgery.
Following on from the appointment I’ll be supporting ONE’s campaign for greater corporate transparency. This includes a call for the names of ultimate beneficial owners of companies to be put into public registries.
“Beneficial owners” are those that may benefit from company ownership, for example, may receive income, even though legal title of the company belongs to others. This creates a veil of secrecy that makes theft of assets and tax evasion more likely.
Greater transparency is a crucial step in allowing citizens to track resources and enabling governments to collect revenues. Also, tackling tax evasion is something I’ve strongly pushed for here in the UK, through measures such as my 2011 Tax and Financial Transparency Bill.
I wish the ONE campaigners all the best for their endeavours in the coming months, and look forward to working with them in future.”
So what did our members think of the meeting?
“I was very excited to see my MP and to talk to her about ONE’s agenda on transparency and about the upcoming G8 Summit. She seemed really interested in the issues and happy to lend her support, which was great. And I gave her a small sunflower plant to remind her of our visit – it seemed appropriate for the UK’s first Green MP!” – Alan Hudson
“l would like to thank Caroline Lucas MP on behalf of ONE and the many ONE Brighton Constituents for giving me no doubt from the first words spoken that we were working on the same page. Not a meeting to persuade but a committed relationship in sync pushing the momentum ahead of the G8 summit. l was personally impressed when Caroline asked if we was aware of the IF campaign. We gained not just a voice but the beginnings of a committed relationship in future campaigns in the fight against extreme poverty” – Jason Alexander
It was a fantastic opportunity to put our most urgent campaign issues directly to a Member of Parliament, and we were pleased that Caroline was so receptive and supportive of the changes we want to see. We’re making her our honorary ONE member of the month!
Take action! We’ve just launched the petition we’ll be taking to the G8 summit in Northern Ireland in June. Find out why food and transparency are our most urgent issues, and add your name now.