Lobbying has always formed the crux of our work at Stonewall. Set up in 1989 to combat Section 28 of the Local Government Act (1988), we are now renowned for our legislative successes.
The aim of Stonewall from the outset was to create a professional lobbying group that would prevent such legislation ever occurring again. In the last twenty years, we have worked hard to ensure equal legal treatment for lesbian, gay and bisexual people. We have put the case for equality on the mainstream agenda and now have support across the political spectrum.
Some of our major successes include equalisation of the age of consent, civil partnerships, and equality in goods, facilities and services. Increasingly, a lot of our work now focuses on post legislative lobbying. Our major campaigns to tackle homophobia in the workplace and in schools mean that we now ask parliament to do more to tackle the culture of homophobia in Britain. Set out below are our top ten tips for successful lobbying!
Make a human case
The key to most of our lobbying work is that we understand how discrimination impacts on real people’s lives. We make sure that every Bill, clause and amendment we lobby on will have a positive impact on the lives of lesbian, gay and bisexual people. The lived experiences of real people drive our campaigning work and we regularly use real life stories to make a case for equality.
Know your facts
It is vital that parliamentarians can be sure that all the information they receive from you is absolutely accurate. We always check our facts and avoid using obscure references.
Clear leadership
At the bottom of every briefing we make it clear who is leading the campaign and give direct contact details so that you can be easily contacted with any further questions.
Consistent messages
Make sure that everyone involved in the campaign, from your colleagues, to parliamentarians and their staff, are fully briefed on your work to ensure absolute consistency of message from all parties.
Be concise
All briefs should be brief! Be aware that MPs and their researchers simply do not have the time to read pages and pages of information. They will receive briefings from a variety of different organisations, so we make sure we pick out all key information and are concise and straight to the point.
Use plain English and good grammar
Keep all language simple and avoid using technical jargon. Make sure you avoid abbreviations or acronyms for things without explaining them first. For example, we never just assume that people will know that LGB stands for lesbian, gay and bisexual. Most MPs will not be experts on your cause so make sure all correspondence is easy to read. Another simple, but crucial point is to make sure that all spelling and grammar is correct. An incorrect comma or typo can undermine the professionalism of a whole campaign.
Be polite and measured
Although it may be tempting to push your messages across, you are much more likely to be listened to if you adopt a polite and measured tone. Make a rational case for your issue.
Speak their language
Westminster has its own language that often doesn’t seem to make sense! Make sure you are familiar with procedure, acronyms and terminology. If you are drafting an oral question for a peer, call it a ‘starred’ question. Again, incorrect terminology risks undermining an important message.
Make sure key allies don’t become ‘usual suspects’
It’s really important to build allies in Westminster and to have MPs and Peers to raise your issues. Just be sure that these people don’t become official spokespeople for your organisation. It’s key that you maintain a broad cross party support, so ask other people to speak instead, and build new relationships.
Say thank you!
So simple, but so effective. If someone raises your issue in parliament, votes the right way, or speaks on your behalf at a debate, say thank you. Make sure that you make it known that you appreciate their support and tell them how much their work has affected real people.
In the last twenty years, Stonewall has seen dramatic amounts of legislative progress. But we know that legal change does not always correlate to societal change. Cultural change is much more difficult to achieve. Every Act that we have passed drives progress so long as people know about it. We always make sure that we promote legal changes in easy to read guides to businesses, individuals, employers and service providers. This maintains the human focus of our work and makes sure that all our work still maintains it’s original focus-to promote justice and equality for Britain’s lesbian, gay and bisexual people.
Jenny Stevens is a representative from the Stonewall Public Affairs Team