Dear marvellous [Name],

VoteClimate wishes you a very Happy New Election Year!

In the winter darkness with our "government" legislating to force extraction of further, lethal fossil fuels, it's time to rekindle our flame of hope.

Can You Help With Recruitment?

With the next general election approaching rapidly, VoteClimate needs to increase its rate of growth. Please can we ask whether each one of us can set a New Year's Resolution to redouble our amazing efforts to recruit four or five new members for VoteClimate?

Please send our details to friends, family, neighbours, colleagues and other contacts. That can be via email, SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X or in person. Please see our Volunteer & Help Out and Campaign Resources pages.

If there's anything we can provide that will help you with this, please get in touch and let us know.

Key Battleground Marginals

Updated constituency boundaries and the massive swing in the opinion polls since the last election mean the electoral landscape is very different from what many people imagine. We've run some new analysis to identify the key battleground seats for the following parties:

• The Labour Party's Key Battleground Seats
• Liberal Democrats Key Battleground Seats
• Scottish National Party Key Battleground Seats
• Plaid Cymru Key Battleground Seats

These are seats where registering with VoteClimate will have the maximum influence on party policies. So if you have climate-concerned friends and family in these areas, please invite them to join us!

What's The Point Of A Citizens Assembly?

Our friends at XR / Election Rebellion are going to be pushing hard for parties to commit to a Citizens Assembly on Climate and Ecological Justice.

A Citizens Assembly (CA) has been Extinction Rebellion's 3rd Demand from the start. Back in 2019 we didn't really get it. But with an election approaching we've realised it's a massively powerful route to get action on climate through the ballot box. How is it so powerful? Because no political party risks losing any votes by promising to consult the people (via a CA) on how best to tackle the climate emergency. The randomly-chosen, nationally-representative members of the public who serve on the CA will be able to make decisions for the good of all based on the science and free of Westminster lobbying funded by vested interests.

Our challenge is to get the strongest possible promise on a CA into party manifestos with the most binding powers to make decisions that the next government commits beforehand to follow. The wonderful news is that, by signing up to the Zero Hour / CEE Bill, the Lib Dems, Greens and Plaid Cymru are already committed to this Citizens Assembly. We need to push those parties to commit explicitly to a CA in their manifesto and, through VoteClimate, to force Labour to do the same or risk losing votes and seats.

Friends & Relations

VoteClimate is one of many organisations pushing for action on climate at the next election. We have been talking to the following fantastic groups:

• Greenpeace Project Climate Vote - training activists to get out onto doorsteps to recruit people to sign up as "climate voters"; however, they're not planning to recommend how to vote for maximum impact.
• The Commitment - you commit to vote only for politicians promising action on climate; they channel your commitment to the candidates and parties.
• XR / Election Rebellion - will be campaigning in their high-impact way for a Citizens Assembly on Climate and Ecological Justice and to get parties to adopt it as policy.
• MPWatch - a network of local activist groups standing up to hold their MPs to account for their actions and statements on climate and other issues.
• Parents For Future - raising awareness of climate emergency in local communities.
• The Climate Party - will put up candidates at the next election committed 100% to the issues of action on climate and biodiversity.

VoteClimate fully supports these groups and, if you have the time, recommends you join their efforts to get action on climate at the next election. If by doing this you raise awareness of VoteClimate, that would be a wonderful bonus.

Thank You & Bye For Now

Wishing you an empowered & empowering 2024!

Love and courage from the VoteClimate team

Future Emails

We're running two email lists:

• Monthly updates on progress and encouragement - this one
• Minimal emails: when to vote and how, approximately twice per year

You can opt out at any time by replying "unsubscribe".

If you want more frequent updates please follow @VoteClimateUK on Twitter or @VoteClimateUK on Instagram.

Back to: News & Analysis