Our e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting closed at midnight on Thursday and now, with most people who signed before midnight having clicked on the confirmation email, it has reached a total of 33,614 signatures; rather satisfyingly, exactly 50% more than last year’s similar e-petition.
Without any practical support from our large wildlife NGOs, we achieved a third of the total needed to trigger a debate in parliament. Just think where we could have reached with that support.
The constituencies with at least 100 signatures are as follows:
Calder Valley 457 signatures – Craig Whittaker MP, CON
High Peak 158 signatures – Andrew Bingham MP, CON
Isle of Wight 155 signatures – Andrew Turner MP, CON
Brighton Pavilion 148 signatures – Caroline Lucas MP, GREEN
Bristol West 147 signatures – Thangam Debbonaire MP, LAB
North Norfolk 142 signatures – Norman Lamb MP, LIB
Penrith and the Borders 142 signatures – Rory Stewart MP, CON, and Defra minister
Stroud 133 signatures – Neil Carmichael MP, CON
Cambridge 132 signatures – Daniel Zeichner MP, LAB
Sheffield Central 129 signatures – Paul Blomfield MP, LAB
Westmorland and Lonsdale 127 signatures – Tim Farron MP, LIB, amd Liberal leader
Skipton and Ripon 127 signatures – Julian Smith MP, CON
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey 125 signatures – Drew Hendry MP, SNP
Norwich South 123 signatures – Clive Smith MP, LAB
South Cambs 122 signatures – Heidi Allen MP, CON
Torridge and West Devon 119 signatures – Geoffrey Cox MP, CON
Derbyshire Dales 115 signatures – Patrick McCloughlin MP, CON
Truro and Falmouth 115 signatures – Sarah Newton MP, CON
South Norfolk 114 signatures – Richard Bacon MP, CON
Thirsk and Malton 111 signatures – Keith Hollinrake MP, CON
Ross, Skye, Lochaber 110 signatures – Ian Blackford MP, SNP
West Dorset 109 signatures – Oliver Letwin MP, CON
Southeast Cambs 106 signatures – Lucy Frazer MP, CON
Northeast Bedfordshire 105 signatures – Alistair Burt MP, CON
Exeter 105 signatures – Ben Bradshaw MP, LAB
Central Devon 104 signatures – Mel Stride MP, CON
Richmond (Yorks) 103 signatures – Rishi Sunak MP, CON
Lancaster and Fleetwood 101 signatures – Cat Smith MP, LAB
Harrogate and Knaresborough 101 signatures – Andrew Jones MP, CON
Suffolk Coastal 101 signatures – Theresa Coffey MP, CON
Argyll and Bute 100 signatures – Brendan O’Hara MP, SNP
Edinburgh North and Leith 100 signatures – Deidre Brock MP, SNP
Keighley 100 signatures – Kris Hopkins MP, CON
Totnes 100 signatures – Sarah Wollaston MP CON
If you live in any of these constituencies why not write to your MP to tell them that you signed the e-petition and that their constituency was one of the areas of high support. Ask them what their own views are on the subject.
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SNH or SNP…on reflection probably the latter unless Great Glen House is a hotbed of party politics…which I doubt!!!
badenoch birder – thanks! How funny! Changed
I pleased to say that Exeter, Harrogate and Keighley are all in the 100 club too! Maybe more will make it into triple figures.
Owen – thanks very much! If you spot any more then let me know please!
Totnes are now in the 100 club too!
Sheffield Hallam and Holborn & St Pancras have not moved beyond 98.
Owen – you are very quick off the mark – thank you.
On Wednesday morning I put a request on the local bird blog to have a final surge of signatures! The total of the six Oxfordshire constituencies went up from 464 to 473. The best performance was from Witney, up three,
possibly David and Samantha Cameron and either Rebekkah Brooks or Jeremy Clarkson (or perhaps not).
Richard – thank you. And I’m sure that was exactly what happened – it’s good to have them on board.
Congratulations on getting 101 signatures in Suffolk Coastal. Now will they please sign the petition against lead shot. Today there were only 34 against it and 142 shooters signing the pro lead shot petition. As you say Mark it is worth writing to your MP as well. I think the RSPB is missing a trick in not encouraging its members more to do something other than just scrub bashing. It is OK for the RSPB to campaign centrally about things but influencing loads of individual MPs must be significant.
Ditto North Norfolk the count on the lead shot petitions is more even at 53 against and 58 for lead shot so if the rest of your 114 signed against …..
Latest:- 22879 in favour of keeping lead ammo, 10540 against.
Is this really 2016?
They are certainly a lot better organised than we are that’s for sure. What it is to have friends in high places!
One word, ok, a few, from the RSPB. That’s all it would take. They’ve not done right by Mark. They’ve got until May for Rob Sheldon’s Lead petition.
Want to lay odds on that one Mark?
Seeing the amazing response from the people of Calder Valley emphasises the fact that Hen harrier persecution and much wider upland land use issues go hand in hand and, sadly, can end up sweeping through people’s homes. With the grasshopper attention span of the media hopefully protecting Hen Harriers, reducing flooding and restoring wildlife and carbon capture to the uplands will unite to keep these issues in the public eye in 2016.
Very embarrassing that Derbyshire in the main do not have more members of the 100 club. Much more effort required in one of the countries worst raptor persecution areas.
Note to self:
MUST TRY HARDER!