There is much to be angry about: the furlough scheme ending, the deadline for a Brexit deal, a multitude of job losses and the Internal Market Bill breaking international law… the list goes on…
Protesting on the street is much needed to try to prevent this economic disaster but we are effectively back in lockdown again. However, it is not all bad news; there are still lots of things we can all do to try to avoid disaster and, let’s face it, we don’t have long! The key thing is getting the message out there to the wider public and getting them to kick up a fuss about it. A lot of people simply do not realise the enormity of the car crash that is heading our way.
Displaying signage is an effective tool. This could either be in your window, for the brave, or on social media. Do you remember the furore of a lightbox being displayed in a Newcastle home saying: “#CummingsTheCovidSpread” a few months ago? This was actually in the thick of the first national lockdown and it certainly got some attention on Twitter despite us not being able to leave our homes.
In a similar vein displaying political art, music or poetry can grab people’s attention in real life and on social media. Likewise, a lockdown does not prevent us from wearing political messages on our clothes or masks to get the message out. If you are sharing such images or lyrics on social media be sure to tag in your local politicians. Tagging famous people can also sometimes do the trick to make a post go viral. You never know, one of them may take up the cause themselves as the footballer Marcus Rashford did about free school meal vouchers over the summer!
You could create an online survey and share the results, again tagging key people. There are of course, many related petitions to sign. If you don’t have a lot of time on your hands, you could donate money to organisations that are dedicated to fighting these causes to help finance their campaigns.
Ring into local or national radio phone-ins on relevant topics to alert people who may not be aware of the true extent of what is going on.
Yes, we have heard it all before but writing to your MP really can work! The trick is to personalise your email or even write a proper letter to them, shock horror, to make it stand out! Similarly, write letters to your local newspaper – your MP really does take notice of them – they want to get re-elected after all. Stories about how these political changes will personally affect you tend to go down particularly well.
You can, of course, always submit an article to the North Bylines to help get the word out there on a neutral platform!
This is just a starting point. If you have other creative ideas to help get the message out there legally during lockdown, please do share them with us!
You can contact us by writing to editor@northeastbylines.co.uk
