38 Degrees

Some of you may have already seen the email below. If not, it describes how the government is trying to sneak through a law which would enable public land - such as our forests - to be sold off to private companies. The House of Lords will vote on it tomorrow afternoon.

Please sign the petition to let them know that you want them to protect our forests from being sold off.

Jan

----- Original Message -----

From: Bryony Walker - 38 Degrees

To: Susan Ellis

Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2014 1:45 PM

Subject: Urgent: 24 hours to save our forests?

Dear Susan,

Could we have just 24 hours to stop England's beautiful woodlands being sold off to private developers? The government is trying to sneak through a law which would clear the way for woodland getting built over. [1] We need to act fast to protect our beautiful wild spaces.

Tomorrow afternoon, the House of Lords starts voting on giving the government new powers to privatise public land. The could mean beautiful woodland gets sold to developers, and precious havens for wildlife are lost forever. [2] We urgently need to persuade members of the House of Lords to protect our countryside by voting against the sell-off clause.

Please can you help protect our forests for wildlife and future generations by adding your name to the petition? Click here to sign your name ‘Susan’ with one click:

SIGN THE PETITION

PETITION TEXT

To the House of Lords,

The Infrastructure Bill opens the floodgates for public land - like our forests - to be sold off to private companies. 38 Degrees members have protected our forests once before, and now the government is trying to undo our work. Please vote to exempt public forests from the sell-off, so these national treasures can be protected for future generations.

SIGN THE PETITION

A growing number of members of the House of Lords are already worried about the destruction this new law could cause. An influential group have tabled amendments which would protect our forests from future sell-offs. [3] The vote will be tight - and a people-powered petition could just tip it the right way.

38 Degrees members know how precious England's are. Back in 2011 over 500,000 of us forced this government to back down on a previous plan to privatise them. [4] Maybe they think they can slip this through the back door - but if enough of us spring into action now we can stop it again.

We need to act fast - the vote’s tomorrow at 3pm. Can you take a minute to sign the petition?
https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/infrastructure

Thanks for being involved,

Bryony, James, India, David & the 38 Degrees team

PS: The sinister sell-off clause is hidden within a much bigger piece of legislation called the "Infrastructure Bill". If it passes, any future government would have the legal power to sell off our woodlands. Let's act together to keep them safe: https://secure.38degrees.org.uk/infrastructure

NOTES:
[1] Parliament: Bill stages - Infrastructure Bill [HL] 2014-15
http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2014-15/infrastructure/stages.html
[2] Save our Woods: Parliament’s New Chainsaw- The Infrastructure Bill:
http://saveourwoods.co.uk/articles/infrastructure-bill/parliaments-new-chainsaw-the-infrastructure-bill/
[3] Parliament: Infrastructure Bill [HL]:
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld201415/ldhansrd/text/140715-gc0001.htm#14071557000179
[4] 38 Degrees: Victory! Government to scrap plans to sell our forests:
http://blog.38degrees.org.uk/2011/02/17/victory-government-to-scrap-plans-to-sell-our-forests/

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This email was sent to janellis@tesco.net.

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