Together, we make a difference
Through the actions of tens of thousands of you who’ve signed petitions, written to your MPs, lobbied lords and shared messages on social media, we’re achieving real change on issues that matter. Here are a few of our recent victories.
Dido Harding did not get top NHS job
Dido Harding was the frontrunner to become the new chief executive of NHS England in June 2021, despite her abysmal track record as the boss of the heavily-criticised Coronavirus Test and Trace service.
More than 50,000 people signed our petition to the NHS England board to urge them not to appoint Dido Harding, and hundreds of Ripples supporters sent postcards to the chair of the board to further stress the importance of the decision.
A month after she announced her candidature, it became clear that Dido Harding would not get the top job after all.
The cut to universal credit was delayed
The government wanted to cut the £20 ‘uplift’, worth over £1,000 a year in total, which was added to universal credit in March 2020.
14,000 Ripples supporters joined our campaign, and Labour MPs tried to force a House of Commons vote on the issue, to tell the government to stop the plans which would hit the poorest people in the country.
In face of the pressure, in the March 2021 budget, Rishi Sunak announced that the ‘uplift’ would not be removed, but kept in place for at least half a year more.
MPs’ £3,000 pay rise was stopped
MPs were due to get a £3,000 pay rise in 2020 – an outrage in a year when key workers were getting a pay freeze and hundreds of thousands of people were losing their jobs.
More than 20,000 Ripples supporters used our tool to send their MP a message asking them to refuse the pay rise, and another 40,000 signed our ‘end the gravy train’ petition – and we know it had a real effect.
Several MPs contacted us as a direct result of all the messages, seeing the level of public anger, pledging to push back against the rise and donate it to charity if it happened. Finally the pressure got too much to bear, and the pay rise was cancelled.
The furlough scheme was extended and jobs saved
As the second wave of coronavirus was beginning, chancellor Rishi Sunak planned to end the furlough scheme, leaving millions of people fearing they would lose their jobs.
33,000 signed our petition calling for the furlough scheme to be extended until the pandemic is under control.
At the last minute, Sunak was forced to backtrack on his plans and announce an extension of the furlough scheme until March 2021, and then again to September 2021.
Brexit: The government had to back down on breaking international law
As Boris Johnson desperately tried to strengthen his negotiating position with the EU in autumn 2020, he grabbed at a dangerous straw: breaking international law and threatening the peace in Northern Ireland by tearing up his own withdrawal agreement.
In one of Ripples’ most extensive campaigns so far, 50,000 people signed our petition, 10,000 wrote to their MPs asking them to vote down the bill in the House of Commons, and 6,000 people used our special ‘lobby a lord’ tool to write to members of the House of Lords.
After a wave of opposition and the biggest Lords defeat in recent history, Boris Johnson eventually had to admit defeat and withdraw the plan.
Do you want to support Ripples?
Joining a campaign or making a contribution to our campaign fund are two ways you can make a difference today.
