Having attended numerous meetings and rallies since joining NPC, I have come to the conclusion that there is one vital missing link in the strategy. Organising groups, membership, creating awareness of issues, demonstrations, marches, placards, rallying supporters to continue fighting for a fairer deal and annual mass lobbies of parliament are all prerequisites for trying to achieve campaign objectives. Allied to this, an individual making their own representations to MPs is part of the scenario. So with these things in place, why is it Ministers in power, who pull the strings, continue to follow their own agenda, cajoling other members of their party to support the line, and more often than not ignore people who they purport to represent? They want to make the rules and then be judge and jury - what they create for society is always right - THEY ARE NEVER WRONG and thereby hangs the problem!

Basically there are two types of MP:

• Those with aspirations to scale the dizzy heights of politics for lucrative trappings it can provide, and therefore curry favour with their chosen leader.

• Others will try to follow a path that reflects representation of people. Unfortunately the latter are a minority, albeit the numbers appear to be growing.

Consequently the Party Whip Fodder ensures that their master's wishes are met with few exceptions. But wait a minute - MPs ask for votes to represent people in the corridors of power, and on the basis they are with a party that is best placed to manage the country in a fair-minded manner for all citizens.

A comment on NPC DVD (£3 plus post and packing - contact here -Send Email to NPC for further information) - RIGHTS not CHARITY - is the clue - "Parliament does not respond to argument, it responds to pressure". THE PRESSURE HAS TO BE APPLIED IN TWO WAYS:

• MPs supporting Pensioners, persuading more of those who succumb to Party Whips that they should demonstrate an allegiance to their constituents. Currently EDM 658 (detail here http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=34810&SESSION=891) will indicate the former and names of the latter are obtainable from a list of MP's on the Parliament website.

• Local campaign groups, organising CONSTANT LOBBYING of MPs in their area using NUMBER STRENGTH to insist that elected members reflect views of the people.

VOTING EVERY 4/5 YEARS IS A POOR OPTION AND DOES NOTHING TO CONTROL POLITICS. WITHIN THAT PERIOD OF TIME A LOT OF DAMAGE CAN BE DONE.

Too many MPs are immune to campaigning in rally meetings and on the streets, therefore they need to feel the pressure from a continuous barrage that leaves them in no doubt that supporting dubious hotchpotch, token-gesture policies will not be tolerated. Questions have got to be replaced with demands. The mould has to be broken whereby MPs talk down points made by campaigners using so-called government achievements. Level of unclaimed benefits tells its own story about government's pension policy and MPs remuneration indicates where their sentiments lie. THIS MUST CHANGE.

NPC London carries the campaign to Ministers, but local groups need to support this far more by making sure that those MPs not indicating support will be given an extremely uncomfortable ride, until they start listening and reacting positively to deficiencies of government policy. A majority of MPs in the UK Parish Council at Westminster (read more here Europe) need to be awakened from their financially secure slumbers - this is where constant mass pressure has to be applied. Giving individual MPs the MESSAGE IN A SUITCASE is one idea.

REPRESENTATION OF PENSIONER VIEWS IS NOT A DESIRE, BUT A DEMAND MADE BY VOTERS TO ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES. Propaganda, spin or political lies must not be allowed to detract from this requirement.

14 April 2008