A message to members and friends ahead of the UK General Election 2015

 

Dear Member,

 

The approach of the General Election means that parliamentary candidates are much more open to being approached on policy matters, and we would really appreciate your help in raising the problems of child poverty and immigration detention.

 

Not only would this help raise awareness of Tzelem's key issues but you can thereby help identify MPs who are sympathetic with Tzelem's aims, informing them of our future work.

 

We have produced questions you could ask with instructions below. Please be a part of campaign in this way, and do feed back any response you receive (tzelem.uk@gmail.com).

 

Best wishes,

 Tzelem’s Campaigning Team

 

 

 

You could ask them by either

 

1. attending a local hustings and posing a question (you may wish to follow up with a letter or email)

 

2. speaking to candidates who knock on your door

 

3. writing to candidates

 

 

 

What to ask them:

 

What is best is to keep the question simple so that you get a direct answer and don't allow them to go off tangent

 

 

The questions we suggest you ask are:

 

On Child Poverty: It is a terrible indictment on Britain that one in four children in Britain do not receive adequate nutrition - that is 3.5 million children - how do you propose tackling it?

 

 On Immigration Detention (please note that the Liberal Democrats, Labour and SNP all back the time limit): Do you think it's right that the UK is the only country in Europe that  does not have a time limit on detention for asylum seekers, and shouldn't there be a limit of 28 days?

 

Details of Hustings in London 

 

Weds 22nd April JW3 Hampstead & Kilburn

 

Thurs 23rd April South London Liberal Syn. Streatham 

 

Monday 27th April Redbridge JCC Ilford North 

 

Monday 27th April New North London Finchley & Golders Green 

 

Tuesday 28th April LJCC Finchley & Golders Green 

 

Weds 29th April Central Square Minyan Finchley & Golders Green 

 

Thurs 30th April Northwood & Pinner Liberal Ruislip, Northwood & Pinner

 

 

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Further Information:

 

On Child Poverty

 

See the Child Poverty Action Group’s website for further information regarding the election, facts and figures and their current campaigns.

 

On Immigration Detention

 

See Tzelem’s website for information about a trip several rabbis from Tzelem made with Rene Cassin and Detention Action to an immigration detention centre. The Jewish Chronicle reported on the visit and you can read a testimony from an ex-immigration detainee here.  Please also see the latest ‘parliamentary report into immigration detention’.