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Fax your MP for free, and be directly involved in democracy |
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Score
83%
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24 votes,
Feasibility
83%
Originality
64%
Humour
28% |
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The number of people who actually have any direct contact with their constituency MP tends to be made up of lobbyists, pressure groups and those who can get time off work, but a new online innovation could change that for good. The website Fax Your MP.com uses a customised 'web to fax gateway' to enable you to fax your questions or concerns direct to your own MP. At the website, the process is a simple one: type in your postcode to discover the name of your MP, put in your own details and write your letter, and then simply click to send the fax.
'Before the fax is sent, the site sends an e-mail to the person writing the letter, requiring them to respond by clicking on a web link. Once that confirmation has been given, the fax is sent to the MP's Westminster office'
If that seems like a system open to misuse, then the designers are one step ahead. Before the fax is sent, the site sends an e-mail to the person writing the letter, requiring them to respond by clicking on a web link. Once that confirmation has been given, the fax is sent to the MP's Westminster office. And while this opportunity for mass faxing might attract pressure groups, the knowledge that the MP will probably ignore such rote letters on one issue should allow individual concerns to get priority.
The website is run by a not-for-profit group of individuals who claim that they "belong to no lobbying groups, no political parties and will happily declare any of our interests if asked." Their aim is simply to allow constituents to make direct contact with the MP who is duty bound to represent them. It is an aim in keeping with the internet's supposed rationale of broadening access and making contact easier and quicker, and the site is an example of technological democracy in action.
For frequently asked questions and answers about the website, see www.FaxYourMP.com/q_a.php3 , and for a related article on the influence of technology on democracy, see Online voting - more accurate, efficient and error-free .
Summarised from information on the Fax Your MP website (www.FaxYourMP.com).
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