CAMPAIGNER BIBLE

‘Write to your MP!’ used to be the battle cry of every outraged rebel with a cause, whether that was to prevent the destruction of some local beauty spot by developers, conquering smut on the telly or campaigning to bring about the return of Lion Bars. The mantra seems somewhat passé‚ in an age when fewer and fewer of us bother to vote and politicians only appear to listen to the public when their backs are up against the electoral wall.

Yet, as journalist and activist Bibi van der Zee points out, with the rise of the internet as a super-fast means of communication, not to mention growing consumer power, there are now more opportunities than ever before for the ‘little people’ to effect change. This accessible, anecdote-heavy guide subtitled ‘The Protestor’s Handbook’ offers a step-by-step guide to putting pressure on high heid-yins in the political and business classes, from the humble petition to demos, boycotts, even going into politics. The only stumbling block is that the author doesn’t offer a solution to the apathy that prevents people becoming outraged in the first place.