Home > Current Affairs > Articles >

Early Day Motions

Ask your MP to sign the following EDM's

• Posted on Feb 23, 2010

As the Parliamentary web-site explains: ‘An Early Day Motion, or EDM, is a motion put down ("tabled") by Members of Parliament calling for a debate on a particular subject. In practice, there is rarely time to debate EDMs nowadays and their true modern-day purpose is to enable MPs to draw attention to an issue and to canvass support for their views by inviting other Members to add their signatures in support of the motion.’
You can fax your MP for free @ http://www.writetothem.com/

A new Early Day Motion has been put down in the House of Commons opposing the plan to replace Trident. It has initially attracted support from 40 MPs, but should gain more signatures.
Please ask your MP to sign EDM 380 by using the facility on the CND website at: http://www.cnduk.org/index.php/get-involved/actions/lobby-your-mp-on-trident-replacement.html

EDM 919  HUNGER STRIKE AT YARL'S WOOD IMMIGRATION REMOVAL CENTRE   Tabled by John McDonnell 23.02.2010
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=40528&SESSION=903
That this House notes that women detained in Yarl's Wood Immigration Removal Centre have been on hunger strike since 5 February 2010 in protest against being detained for up to two years; condemns the detention of victims of rape and other torture, of mothers separated from their children and anyone who does not face imminent removal; believes that such detention flouts international conventions and UK immigration rules; requests that HM Inspector of Prisons urgently carries out an independent investigation into reports of violence, mistreatment and racist abuse from guards, being kettled for over five hours in a hallway, denied access to toilets and water and locked out in the freezing cold, which women have made to their lawyers, the media and supporters, including the All African Women's Group and Black Women's Rape Action Project; and calls for a moratorium on all removals and deportations of the women who took part in the hunger strike pending the results of that investigation.

EDM 890    ASYLUM SEEKER SUPPORT
Tabled by Diane Abbott, 22.02.2010
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=40499&SESSION=903
That this House is concerned by the low level of support provided for asylum seekers; notes that the current level is below subsistence; further notes that a single 25-year-old adult seeking asylum receives £35.13 a week which is 55 per cent. of income support and which equates to just £5 per day; is further concerned at the level of destitution faced by asylum seekers as a result of this low level of support; believes that this policy drives asylum seekers into social exclusion rather than alleviates them from it; recognises that this is a punitive measure and not a form of welfare designed to allow asylum seekers adequately to subsist during an application; and urges the Government to consider raising the asylum support subsistence payment to a minimum of £45 a week, representing 70 per cent. of income support, for single adults.

EDM 618   VULTURE FUNDS
Tabled by Andrew Gwynne 14.01.2010
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=40198&SESSION=903
That this House expresses concern at the activities of so-called vulture funds, which seek to profit unfairly from the defaulted debts of heavily-indebted poor countries; notes that the international community has already deemed many of these countries' debts unsustainable by agreeing to reduce or cancel them; further notes the actions of a minority of creditors who litigate to seek full repayment of defaulted debt by claiming payment via international trade and even aid transactions; is concerned at the use of UK courts for a high proportion of these cases; welcomes the work by the Jubilee Debt Campaign to highlight the activities of the vulture funds; and supports the provisions of the Debt Relief (Developing Countries) Bill introduced by the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish to limit the activities of vulture funds.

EDM 380  TRIDENT REPLACEMENT
Tabled by Jeremy Corbyn 07.12.2009
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=39941&SESSION=903
That this House notes that the UK is facing its biggest economic crisis since the Second World War and can ill afford to spend in excess of £76 billion on replacing the Trident nuclear weapons system; further notes that the UK's security needs are not met by nuclear weapons which do nothing to combat the threats posed by terrorism or climate change; further notes that while countries such as the UK justify their retention and replacement of nuclear weapons on the grounds of an uncertain future, the more likely it is that non-nuclear states will use the same rationale to justify developing their own weapons systems; and calls on the Government to cancel the replacement of Trident, to re-orientate the skilled manufacturing base towards the needs of a post-carbon future, making significant investment in green jobs and reallocating funds towards socially useful spending.

EDM 214: Violence against women and the no recourse to public funds rule. Tabled by Jo Swinson 24/11/2009
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=39754&SESSION=903
That this House commends the work of Amnesty International, the No Recourse to Public Funds campaign and the End Violence Against Women campaign; acknowledges that the current no recourse to public funds rule has a devastating effect on hundreds of women who are trapped in a cycle of abuse, unable to access basic levels of protection and support due to their immigration status; believes that the Government has a duty to protect the human rights of all women entering the UK regardless of immigration status, as stated in the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); further acknowledges the recent Home Office pilot project, but recognises the need for a permanent solution for all women; and therefore calls on the Government to exempt women fleeing domestic violence from the no recourse to public funds rule, to grant women's refuges the funds they need to offer protection from violence to all women suffering abuse, and to launch an integrated strategy to counter violence against women so as to prevent contradictory policies undermining women's rights.

EDM 1982: Detention Of Children,
Tabled by Chris Mullin 12/10/2009
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=39212&SESSION=899 
That this House notes with concern that around 2,000 children are detained each year in immigration detention centres, some for periods of several months; notes the opinion of Save the Children and the Children's Commissioner that this is unjustified and damaging; notes that families with children are among the least likely to abscond; further notes that some EU and Commonwealth countries have successfully introduced solutions other than secure detention for families who have exhausted their asylum claims; and urgently calls on the Government to end the practice of holding children in immigration detention centres.

EDM 1529 GET FAIR COALITION AND POVERTY IN THE UK
Tabled by John Battle 19.05.2009
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=38699&SESSION=899
That this House believes that as the fifth largest economy in the world it is unacceptable that 12.8 million people, 1 in 5 of the population, are living in poverty in the UK; further believes that with the economy in recession and rising unemployment, the Government must commit to further measures to protect the poorest in society; and supports calls by the Get Fair Coalition of charities, faith and community groups for the Government to increase levels of income to a minimum living standard for a lasting reduction in poverty in the UK.

EDM 1440    REGULATION OF VULTURE FUNDS
Tabled by Sally Keeble, 06.05.2009
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=38604&SESSION=899
That this House expresses concern at the activities of vulture funds which seek to profiteer from the defaulted debts of developing countries; notes that the international community has already deemed many of these countries' debts unsustainable and agreed to cancel them; further notes the continuing actions brought by vulture funds which try to claim payment via international trade and even aid transactions with poor countries; is concerned at the use of UK courts for a high proportion of these cases; welcomes the work by the Jubilee Debt Campaign to highlight the activities of the vulture funds; supports the provisions of the Developing Country Debt (Restriction of Recovery) Bill introduced, with the support of a cross-party group of hon. Members, by the hon. Member for Northampton North to limit the activities of vulture funds; and calls on the Government to support this bill.

EDM 1046 Voucher System for Asylum Seekers 10.03.2009
Tabled by Neil Gerrard, 10.03.09
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=38144&SESSION=899
That this House notes that people seeking asylum whose claims have been refused and who are unable to return home receive section 4 support in the form of supermarket vouchers; welcomes the Refugee Council's recent report, More Token Gestures, which reveals that this voucher system fails to meet the needs of this vulnerable group of people, exacerbates the hardships they face and leaves them open to hostility and abuse; further notes that vouchers are costly to administer and damaging to community relations; and therefore calls on the Government to abandon the inhumane voucher system without delay and to allow people on section 4 support to receive support in cash rather than vouchers and to have the entitlement to work to support themselves

EDM 960: Let Them Work Campaign
tabled by Lynne Jones 03.03.09
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=38042&SESSION=899
That this House welcomes the Let Them Work campaign to allow asylum seekers permission to work while they are waiting for a decision about their claim; notes with concern that asylum seekers who fled persecution in their own countries are among the most vulnerable people in the UK and are being denied the opportunity to work to support themselves and their families, to pay taxes, and to contribute to the economy; is additionally concerned about the situation of those asylum seekers without status who are unable to return home, many of whom spend years in limbo and are reliant on charity hand-outs or forced into illegal work just to survive; is alarmed that this leaves already vulnerable people open to destitution and exploitation; and therefore calls on the Government to allow asylum seekers to work if they have been waiting longer than six months for a full resolution on their asylum claim and to ensure that permission to work remains for people whose claim for asylum is refused, but who are unable to return home immediately through no fault of their own.

EDM 757    ENFORCEMENT RESTRICTION ORDERS
Tabled by John Battle, 10.02.2009
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=37814&SESSION=899
That this House notes that the rapid rise in redundancies and unemployment will undoubtedly leave many households facing significant problems with debt repayments; further notes that the Tribunal, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 contained provision to establish enforcement restriction orders, which would enable county courts to stay debt recovery actions for up to 12 months for individuals facing such problems; further notes that the introduction of these orders is not scheduled until 2010; believes that they are needed now; and therefore calls for the introduction of enforcement restriction orders to be brought forward as a matter of urgency.

EDM 660 PARLIAMENTARY SCRUTINY OF TRIDENT REPLACEMENT
Tabled by Jeremy Corbyn 03.02.2009
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=37711&SESSION=899
That this House recalls the commitment given during the parliamentary debate on the prospective programme for the replacement of the Trident system on 14 March 2007, Official Report, column 309, by the then Foreign Secretary, the right hon. Member for Derby South, that the Government would ensure regular reports to Parliament as the programme proceeds; contrasts this with the answer given by the Permanent Under Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, Sir Bill Jeffrey, in oral evidence to the Public Accounts Committee on 19 November 2008, when it was highlighted that the Ministry of Defence had announced its intention to conclude the Initial Gate decision in September 2009, during the parliamentary recess, that these would normally be decisions taken by Ministers; notes that the Secretary of State for Defence said in a written Answer on 10 December 2008, Official Report, column 341W, that decisions will be taken on the Initial Gate in autumn 2009 and that the Government proposed to update Parliament on progress after Initial Gate; believes this undermines the commitment made to Parliament by the Foreign Secretary in March 2007; and requests that the Initial Gate decision be delayed until Parliament is in session and can be presented with the report for scrutiny.

EDM 612  Rape as a Weapon
Tabled by Lorley Burt  28.01.2009
That this House condemns the use of rape as a weapon; notes the rape capital of the world is the eastern Congo where in some areas three-quarters of women have been raped; further notes that in Darfur, raped women are scarred or branded, or occassionally have their ears cut off and that this is often done by police officers or soldiers, in uniform, as part of a co-ordinated government policy; and calls on the Government to condemn violence against women, to work to highlight this abhorrent use of force in conflicts around the world and do everything that it can to prevent the systematic use of rape as a weapon.  http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=37658&SESSION=899 
See also the UN Security Council's defining of rape as an act of war  here