I wrote a letter to my MP, Charles Clarke, regarding the Digital Economy Bill. You can read that letter here.
I’m very pleased to say that I received a personalised response two days later, albeit from one of his researchers rather than from Mr Clarke himself – although this is only to be expected. The letter is reprinted here with permission and shows clearly Mr Clarke’s stance on the DEB.
Dear Mr Jones,
Thank you for taking the time to write to me on this important issue. I have taken up the points you have raised with the Government, and have attached the response I received from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. I hope that you will find this information useful in relation to your concerns.
On receiving your email I have written again to the Government to show the strength of my constituents’ concerns. I have raised several issues with the Bill myself, and will continue as your MP to scrutinise and lobby for improvements; however I do broadly support the Government’s position.
If I can be of any further assistance then please do not hesitate to contact me again.
Yours sincerely,
On behalf of Charles Clarke MP
Gemma Ricketts
Researcher
Rt Hon Charles Clarke MP
Norwich South
Attached to Mr Clarke’s email was a PDF of a letter from Stephen Timms, Minister for Digital Britain and champion of the DEB. You can read the attached PDF by clicking here.
I’d be interested to hear people’s thoughts on these responses.
0 Comments
Glyn Wintle · March 21, 2010 at 4:43 pm
MPs think no response equals happy, so if your not happy with please do write bck
If you want MP to do some thing, write back stating politely what it is you want them to do.
http://wiki.openrightsgroup.org/wiki/Letter_writing
Frank · March 21, 2010 at 5:20 pm
It’s interesting to note that Stephen Timms’ letter, while making valid points about stopping piracy from being the first place to look for content, it doesn’t address your point about web lockers in the slightest.
Simon Jones · March 21, 2010 at 7:26 pm
The dates in Mr Timms’ letter pre-date me contacting Charles Clarke, so it’s not a direct response but rather an earlier reply to another correspondence. It may even be from before the web locker amendment reared its head.
Glyn – thanks for the advice. I hadn’t considered that aspect. I will indeed write again to ensure that Mr Clarke is aware that the matter is not closed as far as I am concerned.
David Marley · March 21, 2010 at 10:17 pm
I got the same letter a few weeks back. Clearly a stock response. I’ve written back stating I’m not happy.
Think the DEB is a done deal – because the politicians are either bought & sold by the Entertainment Industry (expect Mandelson & Timms to find places on the boards of a few media companies after the election) or they’re just thick – thinkq sets out the reality of ‘piracy’ & how out of touch politicians are if they think this bill will have the effect they want. http://www.thinq.co.uk/news/2010/3/19/piracy-will-destroy-the-earth/
Frank · March 22, 2010 at 9:21 am
Simon: My mistake, I had not spotted that.
Frank · March 22, 2010 at 9:46 am
I have in fact just written a letter to our MP Chloe Smith, I’ll let you know what she has to say on this.
A dissatisfied response to Charles Clarke re: Digital Economy Bill « Simon K. Jones · March 22, 2010 at 7:46 pm
[…] Contact ← Charles Clarke on the Digital Economy Bill […]