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As an Incredible Edible Lambeth member, we are inviting you to help with a really important piece of campaign work. Later this month Mike Kane MP is planning to speak in the House of Commons about a Bill we are proposing, giving people a legally binding Right to Grow on local public land – that is, a community’s right to access and use often neglected publicly owned land for food growing and wildlife projects. 

But, Mike Kane needs to know he’s going to get support from other MPs, and that’s where we come in. As Incredible Edible growers we are the strongest force for influencing our own MPs and getting them to support Mike Kane’s Bill. 

As a fellow IEL member, you know how powerful growing food is for us, our communities, and our world. But, so many people cannot easily access land that they can grow on.  That needs to change! We can help make that happen by securing this Right to Grow. 

If you want more details before you decide you can take a look at the Right to Grow page on our website.

Will you contact your local MP and ask them to support Mike Kane’s Bill when he proposes it? We are including suggestions on what to say, so it should only take you 10 minutes or so. It would be such a huge help! You can copy and paste the details below or download the pdf attached and top and tail it yourself.

Can you let us know whether you have contacted your MP, so that we can report back to Mike Kane and let him know which MPs have been asked to support the Bill? email us coordinator@incredibleediblelambeth.org

 

Tips for writing to Florence Eshalomi, MP:

  • Introduce yourself, and briefly explain how you are involved with Incredible Edible Lambeth and why it matters to you.
  • Tell her that Mike Kane MP is going to be proposing, a 10-minute-rule Bill* for a Right to Grow on public land, which would greatly improve access to that land for community groups to grow food and make it more wildlife friendly, and ask whether she will be willing to support the Bill.
  • Tell her about your experience and why you think community growing projects are good for the local area, and emphasise that if access to land was easier, there could be more projects and more people benefiting from improving the local environment through community growing. 
  • Ask her to get back to you and let you know if they will support the bill.

That’s it but be sure to include your postal address or at least your postcode at the end of your letter, as she will only deal with correspondence that is from people who live in her constituency. 

Florence’s email is florence.eshalomi.mp@parliament.uk

Thank you 

*A 10 Minute Rule Bill is an opportunity for MPs to propose a new piece of legislation on an important issue by speaking about it for 10 minutes in the Parliament. Its purpose is to inform and raise the profile of the issue. It does not in itself change the law, but is a valuable step forward.



Extra activity for those enthusiastic to support

Request a visit from Florence to your growing site for a short meeting to talk about the Right to Grow.

When she visits, show her what you’ve been doing, tell her about the benefits, and give her a copy of our Right to Grow briefing (see link on Incredible Edible website)

Get a photo of you and Florence, and ask her if she will commit to supporting Mike Kane’s 10-minute-rule bill. If yes, ask her if she will provide a short statement of support in writing for a press release.

If she commits to support it, use the attached press release and the photo of you with your MP, to approach your local newspaper(s) with the story.