In the last few months, I have been observing the Parliamentary opportunities for MPs outside of the Government to raise motions which according to the Parliamentary website are “An Early Day Motion (EDM) is a motion put down, or tabled, on the order paper by a group of Members of Parliament calling for a debate on a particular subject.” Now rather sadly the second part of the same statement then goes on to explain “In recent years the increasing number of EDMs has meant that time is very rarely found for them to be debated. The modern-day purpose of EDMs is to allow MPs to express their opinion on a subject and to canvass support for their views by inviting other members to add their signatures in support of the motion. As a general rule, EDMs will only be debated if they can gain the support of over half the MPs in the House.”

My view is that people who are aware of what Parliament can achieve, should response their views on EDM issues so that their MPs will consider endorsing the most significant items in a large number. Yesterday I was reviewing the EDMs that have taken place so far in the first half of November and I came across two EDMs that were set out on the 9th of November both of which were written by Apsana Begum who is the Labour MP for Poplar and Limehouse. She set out two EDMs on the same day and they both began with the same sentence and then they have a significant set of comments. The people who have endorsed these two EDMs are both identical with only one person so far who has signed one rather than both of the EDMs. Interestingly one of the current MPs who has signed both of these documents and indeed did so at the main proposal element was a Conservative MP who had never signed an EDM before she signed these two. There is a list below of the 23 current MPs who have endorsed at least one of these two EDMs. So far there are 14 Labour MPs, 2 Lib Dems, 2 Independents, 2 SNPs and one of the Plaid Cymru, SD & Labour, and also a Conservative and my MP who is Caroline Lucas who is the Green Party MP. We currently have four from Scotland, two from Wales and one from Northern Ireland and 16 from England. Here are the two documents. The first is “Domestic Abuse and public life” and the second is “Domestic Abuse and workplaces”. Both of them begin with the following words

This House note that domestic abuse involves a pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour, including sexual violence, in the majority of cases by a partner or ex-partner;

And the first then continues with

understands that not all domestic abuse takes place in the home or during a current relationship and that often women are most vulnerable when they are leaving a relationship, or after it has ended; highlights that post-separation control and/or harassment is a form of abuse that can occur long after a relationship or marriage is over, with different tactics of abuse employed; recognises that domestic abuse is prevalent and can affect people from all walks of life and in all forms of employment, including those public life; also notes that female political representatives, including those from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, face disproportionate barriers and are at greater risk of harassment and abuse; and therefore calls on all political parties to ensure that political representatives who are survivors of domestic abuse are not exposed to further harassment in their roles and to raise awareness of the issues in order to create a society where individuals experiencing domestic abuse feel confident that they will be believed, listened to and treated supportively.

and the second one then continues with

recognises that domestic abuse can have profound long-term effects on survivors and is concerned that is very difficult to speak out about domestic abuse and often those that do are subject to further silencing tactics; further recognises that domestic violence is a workplace issue and that it can affect employment performance and in some cases even mean the abuse is carried out in the workplace; believes that domestic abuse policies form an essential part of a strategy to achieve equal opportunities in the workplace; calls on all employers to ensure workplaces are places of safety for survivors of domestic abuse with measures in place for their protection and an environment fostered where individuals experiencing domestic abuse feel confident that they will be believed, listened to and treated supportively; and calls on the Government to ensure a nationally funded network of domestic violence and abuse support services.

So here is the list of the MPs that have so far signed one or both of these EDMs

Anne McLaughlin, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Beth Winter, Caroline Lucas, Chris Stephens, Christine Jardine, Claire Hanna, Claudia Webbe, Hywel Williams, Ian Lavery, Ian Mearns, Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell, Kate Kniverton, Kate Osborne, Lloyd Russell-Moyle, Nadia Whittome, Olivia Blake, Rachael Maskell, Richard Burgon, Wendy Chamberlain, Zarah Sultana

(it is Wendy Chamberlain who so far only signed one of them).