38 Degrees

38 Degrees is a UK non-profit political activism organisation that campaigns on a diverse range of issues, such as protecting the environment and tackling climate change, democratic media ownership, child poverty and political reform, to make changes its supporters regard as positive. The organisation states it aims to campaign for “fairness, defend rights, promote peace, preserve the planet and deepen democracy in the UK.” 38 Degrees does not have any political affiliations and emphasises independence from all political parties.

History

38 Degrees says it was inspired by groups like MoveOn in the United States, GetUp in Australia and Avaaz globally. These organisations all use the internet to mobilize people and connect them and their governments. 38 Degrees believed an organisation based on a similar model was needed in the UK.

The organisation launched on 26 May 2009 . Founders include Gordon Roddick, co-founder of The Body Shop, and Henry Tinsley, Ex Chairman of Green & Black's chocolate. The project was developed by Ben Brandzel, formerly of MoveOn, Avaaz, GetUp and the Barack Obama presidential campaign in the United States. Other board members include Gemma Mortensen of Crisis Action, Paul Hilder of Oxfam, and Benedict Southworth of the World Development Movement.

The Executive Director is David Babbs, who signs off some emails and appears in the media. Babbs was formerly Head of Activism at Friends of the Earth where he was responsible for the Big Ask Campaign. Babbs also previously worked at People & Planet. Other staff who sometimes sign off emails are Johnny Chatterton and Hannah Lownsbrough.

Methodology

38 Degrees describes itself as a people-powered and multi-issue. It aims to empower UK citizens by providing easy ways for them to take action on the issues they care about e.g. climate change, human rights, tackling poverty.

Campaigning techniques include both online methods, such as online petitions, and offline methods, such as calling an MP or visiting a surgery.

Campaigns

Campaigns include:

• Selling off Forests: In October 2010, Caroline Spelman – Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs - announced plans to sell off publicly owned forest and woodland in England. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/oct/29/uk-government-forest-sell-off). 38 Degrees launched a petition against the selling off of forests, raising concerns about loss of public access and impact on conservation. 38 degrees members paid for an opinion poll which showed that 84% of the public were opposed to the government plans, and funded national newspaper adverts condemning the proposal. The 38 degrees petition passed 500,000 signatures on 11 February. 38 Degrees campaign against forest privatisation has been praised by environmentalist Jonathon Porritt who contrasted their clear stance and responsiveness to member concerns with the "betrayal" of other green groups. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthcomment/geoffrey-lean/8304192/Green-groups-lost-in-the-woods.html
• Tax dodging: on 5 January 2011, 38 Degrees ran a series of member-funded adverts in national newspapers, challenging George Osborne for his record on tackling tax dodging, highlighting an alleged £120 billion lost in unpaid tax annually and Osborne's own involvement in a tax dodge. The adverts were timed to coincide with a rise in VAT from 17.5% to 20%. They were printed in the Independent and the Guardian, while the Daily Telegraph, Metro and the Daily Mail refused to run them.
• "Stand up for the NHS": 38 Degrees members campaigned against the closure of NHS Direct - closure plans which were subsequently scaled back although ministers denied this was because of public pressure. 38 Degrees members also organised a series of public meetings around England in January 2011 to highlight concerns with NHS

Reforms proposed by Andrew Lansley

• Issues surrounding the Copenhagen Climate Summit: in December 2009, 38 Degrees staged a Climate Question Time where members quizzed Ed Miliband—The Secretary of State for Environment and Climate Change—live on a mass-conference call.
• BBC and the licence fee: 38 Degrees launched a campaign called "Stand up for the BBC", after James Murdoch gave a speech to the Edinburgh Festival in 2009 calling for the BBC to be broken up. 38 Degrees members voted 80% in favour of the campaign. Recently the government announced it was putting on hold plans to "top slice" the licence fee after 38 Degrees pressure.
• Bankers' bonuses: in November 2009 38 Degrees worked with the think tank Compass on a successful campaign for the UK government to impose a tax on bankers' bonuses.
• Recall law: a campaign calling for the right of voters to force a by-election if they lose trust in their Member of Parliament (MP) .
• Repossessions: a campaign launched with the Big Issue to freeze repossessions during the recession. Every year in the UK 75,000 homes face reposession.
• 10:10: 38 Degrees teamed up with 10:10 to urge MPs to vote to reduce the carbon emissions of Parliament by 10% in 2010. Over 48 hours 10,000 members contacted their MPs. The vote was lost but the Government pledged extra money for green initiatives.
• Donald Trump in Aberdeenshire: 38 Degrees has been working with Tripping up Trump, a campaigning group in Aberdeenshire, to oppose Donald Trump's proposals to use compulsory purchase powers to force people off their land to make way for his luxury golf course complex.

Controversy

38 Degrees director David Babbs was the subject of a controversial interview by Sky News anchorwoman Kay Burley who was accused of aggressively interrupting Babbs and telling him to leave a protest about electoral reform and instead "go home and watch it on Sky News". The term "sack Kay Burley" subsequently tended on Twitter and hundreds of complaints were made to Ofcom [1].

38 Degrees have been criticised by a Conservative MP, Dominic Raab, for allowing members to send "clone emails" to MPs via their web site [2]. Raab stated he would lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner about 38 Degrees using his parliamentary email address, but no complaint was ever upheld and it remains possible to email Raab via the 38 Degrees web site.[3]

Observer columnist David Mitchell took issue with their targeting of George Osborne for legally avoiding tax. [4]. Some activists have accused them of producing misleading campaign literature, raising concerns through their Facebook page Facebook 'Save our Forests' debate October/November 2010.

See also

• Moveon
• Avaaz
• GetUp
• Internet activism