It's no accident that Murdoch has turned up in in London - he's here to twist a few arms and lobby to get his own way.
Well we can lobby our government too - please write to your MP to tell them to vote NO on Wednesday; we have made a difference before and we can do it again.
Breaking news: there's going to be a vote in Parliament this Wednesday on Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB power grab. [1]
Your MP will be weighing up how to vote. [2] Will they stand up for democracy and decent media standards? Or will they do what they've done far too many times in the past, and let Murdoch grab even more power?
If we work together, we can make sure enough MPs vote the right way this Wednesday. We can send our MPs a flood of messages, and make them realise their voters won't stand for Rupert Murdoch getting even more control.
It's quick and easy to email your MP, and it only takes 2 minutes. Get started here:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/stand-up-to-murdochA vote by our MPs to halt the BSkyB deal would be a huge breakthrough. [3] The past week has seen appalling revelations of criminal and unethical activity by Murdoch papers. Now we have a chance to prove that Murdoch's control over our democracy will no longer be tolerated.
It could be a very close vote. Rupert Murdoch knows that control of BSkyB would mean more cash and more power - so he's desperate to win. He's flown into London to start twisting arms. [4] Behind closed doors, his lobbyists and lawyers are springing into action. But if enough of us work together, we can outweigh their pressure.
Can you send your MP a quick message now? Find their name and email address here:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/stand-up-to-murdoch38 Degrees members helped secure this week's vote. We've been challenging Murdoch's plans since they were first announced in July 2010. In the past week we've sent over 150,000 messages to the government and to MPs demanding a halt whilst the latest scandal is investigated.[5] Bit by bit, we're winning the argument that Murdoch should not be rewarded with more power.
When there's a close vote like this in parliament, we know that we can work together to swing it the right way. We did it to save England's forests. [6] We are doing it to protect the NHS. Now let's make sure our MPs vote to clamp down on Rupert Murdoch and stand up for a better media and a better democracy.
The next 48 hours are crucial, so please email your MP now:
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/stand-up-to-murdochThanks for getting involved,
David, Johnny, Becky, Hannah, Marie, Cian and the 38 Degrees team
NOTES
[1]
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/media/8628260/Ed-Miliband-seeks-to-block-Rupert-Murdochs-BSkyB-deal.html[2] See for example this hint from Chris Huhne MP that the Lib Dems are wavering:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/jul/10/bskyb-takeover-liberal-democrats-labour[3]
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jul/10/david-puttnam-rupert-murdoch-bskyb[4]
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/phone-hacking/8617707/News-of-the-World-phone-hacking-live.html[5] For a summary of what we've dpne together so far, see:
http://blog.38degrees.org.uk/2011/07/08/the-campaign-to-stop-murdochs-bskyb-powergrab-continues/[6] See for example
http://blog.38degrees.org.uk/2011/02/17/victory-government-to-scrap-plans-to-sell-our-forests/
