The degree avalanches occur

Since 38 Degrees launched in early June it has achieved a huge amount. From demanding new laws to make MPs answer to us and flooding Parliament with emails about climate change to defending valued public services and calling for the Iraq inquiry be held in public, it has made the peoples' voices heard.

I joined 38 Degrees when it first launched and have been part of it's many campaigns. It is all part of the desktop activism that I seem to be doing more of rather than the marching (though I was at The Wave in december). Here are some of them:

Climate, Copenhagen 10:10, Quizzing the Minister:
Our campaigning on climate change got the government's attention. In October over 10,000 of us contacted our MPs in just 48 hours to ask Parliament to reduce its own emissions by 10% next year. This month, 38 Degrees members quizzed Ed Miliband (Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change) in the first-ever public conference call with a Cabinet minister.

Cleaning up Parliament:
The expenses scandal showed us the urgent need to make sure MPs really answer to us. Together, we've pushed for a recall law to give voters who have lost trust in their MPs the right to call a fresh vote. Even the Prime Minister has slowly come around to a recall law - but we've got a long way to go. Cleaning up Parliament is a big task and we'll need to continue working hard both to make recall a reality and to force politicians to reveal their links to lobbyists.

Bankers:
We were outraged to see bankers awarding themselves massive bonuses just after the government had to bail them out with our money. When plans to put a 50% tax on bankers bonuses leaked out, bankers went into overdrive trying to force government to back down. We stepped up to outweigh the banks' pressure - in just 48 hours, thousands of us pressed the Chancellor to stand up to the banks' lobbyists. People power worked: Alistair Darling stood up to the bankers and imposed the tax.

Tackling poverty, sticking up for public services:
We've worked together to make sure the recession doesn't hit poor families hardest. Together we helped convince the government to extend free school meals to protect an extra 50,000 children from poverty - in the words of the End Child Poverty Coalition this was "a major achievement....and could not have been done without 38 Degrees".

We also took action to protect public services, defend the NHS from unfair criticism from a Conservative MEP and stand up for the BBC against attacks from James Murdoch. Our campaign against top-slicing the licence fee ended with a big success, with the government shelving the idea until at least 2012.

Speaking up for Human Rights and Civil Liberties:
We helped to convince Peter Mandelson to scale back his plans to disconnect millions of suspected internet file-sharers. We also worked with Tripping up Trump in Aberdeenshire, to oppose Donald Trump's plans to evict families to make way for his golf course. We'll continue to work with Tripping Up Trump in 2010. In the meantime, an 85 year old woman named Molly Forbes has begun legal proceedings to defend her home from the threat of compulsory purchase. You can show your support by sending her a Christmas card, addressed to - Molly Forbes, Paradise, Mill of Menie, Menie, Aberdeenshire, AB23 8YE.

A growing team:
It's been a busy few months for our small staff team - David, Hannah, Johnny and Nina. None of our campaigning would have been possible without the help of our volunteers who have worked tirelessly to build and support our campaigns. Thank you Alex, Ashley, Katy, Laura, Louise, Ross, Toby, Tom, and Tosin.

What's next?
In 2010, it will be more important than ever to keep taking action together. The general election is looming, we're still in recession, unemployment is climbing and politicians are talking of drastic public service cuts. We'll be working hard to make sure Blair gets a grilling at the Iraq inquiry, we'll turn up the pressure for tough action on climate change and will be running local campaigns, like our campaign to make sure Boris Johnson keeps his promise on delivering four rape crisis centres in London.

In the New Year we'll need to decide together what 38 Degrees should do in the run up to the election. Be part of the ongoing campaigns in the new year.
www.38degrees.org.uk

What I find interesting is that 38 Degrees is not the only grass-roots group that mobilises an apathetic public. The disillusionment with the Government from the expenses scandal and the distrust of capitalism from the recession means that people are getting motivated to do something themselves which is very exciting. I think this attitude is reflected in the Christmas number 1.

I wish you all the best in 2010. Love and hugs, P.