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The Sherwood Echo
Posted on February 26th 2010 on http://robinhoodtax.org.uk/the-sherwood-echo/the-sherwood-echo/
The first of our weekly roundups of the week’s merry-making
It’s been a busy week here in Sherwood, and people have been blowing their horns far and wide in support of a Robin Hood Tax. It’s cold in the Forest at this time of year, but Robin is being kept warm by news of the outstanding progress on the campaign. Read on to find out what’s been going on in Sherwood and beyond.
Merry Westminster
After discovering that the Robin Hood Tax has more Facebook fans than all of the main political parties put together, Robin sent an arrow out to all of his merry followers asking them to make their MPs get merry at Westminster. The results were incredible– 2,500 sent a message to their MP, tweeters got #RHT to the top five trending topics on Twitter, and an unprecedented number of MPs showed up to a special briefing event at the House of Commons to hear what Richard Curtis and three others had to say. Excellent work, Merry (Wo)men!
Evidence shows that politicians are taking notice of the raucous noise coming from Sherwood. At Prime Minister’s Questions, Gordon Brown was asked to adopt a Robin Hood Tax, and the tax came top in a list of questions that the public wanted Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg to answer. Following the example of Peter Hain, the first Cabinet Minister to come out in support of the tax, the list of politicians to join our merry band has been steadily growing: Conservative candidate René Kinzett, Green Party Leader Caroline Lucas, and Labour MP Jamie Reed have all pledged their allegiance to Mr. Hood.
Mischief afoot in Britain…
Robin was especially pleased to learn that his tax is now officially hot, with the Bill Nighy video making #9 in Heat Magazine’s Hot List. News of the campaign has been spreading across the land, and Robin spotted articles in The Independent, The Tribune and the Liberal Democrat Voice outlining the benefits of the tax. Austen Ivereigh of London Citizens, The European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) in Ireland, and the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) also spoke to the media about how the tax would work to benefit the world’s most vulnerable people.
… and across the world!
News of Robin’s mischief making has been reaching beyond the shores of Merry Britain. The European Commission has urged the EU member states to consider introducing a financial transaction tax, and the campaign has now started in earnest in Germany, where a new version of the video was launched at the Berlin International Film Festival. Talk of our Lincoln green hero even reached the US, with articles in the Voice of America and the New Hampshire Gazette explaining the backing which the campaign has received from the British public, while a piece in Forbes told how the tax could make Wall Street fairer. The Robin Hood Tax also appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in Australia, where the campaign is due to launch next week.
Have a merry weekend!
Now that the week is over, it’s time to get merry and do something in support of the Robin Hood Tax. Next week we’ll be focusing on what the money raised by the tax could do to help stamp out poverty in the UK, so there’ll be plenty of chances to grab a pair of tights and get involved.
Finally, if you fancy a dance around the Sherwood campfire this weekend, take a look at this video made by American supporter Jonathon Mann. All together now: do the Robin Hood dance, make the Robin Hood face…
http://robinhoodtax.org.uk/ |
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