Woodcraft protest gains momentum

A HUNDRED MPs have now signed the Early Day Motion calling on the Government to reverse its decision to axe an annual &#163 52,000 grant to the Woodcraft Folk.
Among the signatories of Islington North MP Jeremy Corbyn&#039s EDM are dozens of well-known Labour figures, leading Liberal Democrats Menzies Campbell and Lembit Opik and former Tory minister Peter Bottomley.
Eleven Co-op MPs had signalled their dismay at the move as campaigners sought a meeting with Children&#039s Minister Margaret Hodge before the Easter break.
Despite a successful lobby of Parliament which attracted over 220 Woodcraft Folk members and supporters to Westminster, no meeting has yet been arranged.
The Woodcraft Folk&#039s Deputy General Secretary Chris Pyke told the News: "The lobby of Parliament was very heartening. We thought we might get 70 or 80 people there, but there were at least 220 present, ranging from six-months-old to pensioners.
"So many people wanted to talk to their MPs about the funding issue that, in effect, we had a rolling meeting in Committee Room Five for over two hours with people making the case and MPs listening to their concerns in a sort of shift system."
Added Mr Pyke: "It&#039s great that a lot of MPs are lobbying the Government on our behalf to try to get the decision reversed and there is also a possibility it will be raised in the House of Lords. At the moment, we are no further forward but we are hoping to get a meeting with the minister to press for a rethink."
The fact that support for Jeremy Corbyn&#039s EDM has gone into treble figures is giving the campaign heart.
The following Labour/Co-op members have so far backed the motion: Mark Lazarowicz, David Taylor, David Lepper, Andy Reed, David Drew, Jim Dobbin, Mike Gapes, Andy Love, Louise Ellman, Alan Keen and Doug Naysmith.
Among the ?big guns&#039 of the Parliamentary Labour Party who have signed the EDM are Dianne Abbott, Clive Soley, Kevin McNamara, Gerald Kaufman, Barbara Roche, Kate Hoey, Doug Henderson and Joan Ruddock.