Early Day Motion started in Parliament regarding street photography

had a letter from House of Commons from my MP saying she will look into the matter after the easter break
 
Still waiting for a reply from my MP Dereck Twigg, he has not yet signed the EDM, he must be very busy working extremely hard to make our town a much better place to live in.
 
captain jack said:
Still waiting for a reply from my MP Dereck Twigg, he has not yet signed the EDM, he must be very busy working extremely hard to make our town a much better place to live in.
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or out shopping
 
Whilst my MP, Gavin Strang, has failed to reply to me, he has at least found time to sign the EDM - result!
 
I received a letter through the post from my MP David laws saying he's signed and happy to do so :thumbs:
 
I received a letter from the house of commons today, my MP states that she can't sign EDMs as she's a parliamentary private secretary but she does have greater access to ministers and will ensure my views on this matter are passed to the minister concerned
 
just got back from holiday and had received a letter from my MP Humphrey Malins who has signed up
 
Very quick response from my MP, Mark Prisk:

Thank you for your email about EDM 1155 and photography in public places.

I appreciate you drawing my attention to this issue, I am not aware that this practice is particularly prevalent, and as such I would not wish to sign the EDM and criticise our police force without knowing more details.

In general, however, I believe it is important that people are aware of what their rights are. You are right that, except in exceptional circumstances, it is not an offence to take photographs in public places, indeed, thousands of people do all through the UK every day.

When there are serious concerns about national security, such as at military airports and power stations, there are provisions for photography being restricted; however, in general Government buildings are not covered. Indeed, the Houses of Parliament must be one of the most photographed buildings in the world and, whilst the Metropolitan police are running an anti-terrorism campaign encouraging the reporting of suspicious behaviour, including photographing sensitive buildings, I am not aware that this has led to any harassment of photographers.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to write to me.
Yours sincerely
Mark Prisk MP

So, no luck there but at least he responded. I will send him some examples of press reports and people's presonal experiences, so if you know of any other than those already posted in this thread, please pass them on.

If you haven't writen to yours yet, get on the case!
 
My MP has responded with a very nice letter.

The jist of it reads that basically EDM's hardly ever make it through for debate, and when they do it is very rare that anyone who signed it will actually be there!

What he has done is written to the appropriate minister on my behalf highlighting my concerns, he also enclosed a copy of the letter sent to Meg Hillier MP, Parlimentary Under Secretary of State.

Quite a nice letter and response so we shall see if anything happens:shrug:
 
I received a letter from John Bercow today apologising for the delay and saying that he had signed the EDM - and indeed he has!

And there I was thinking that I wasn't going to get a reply. It gives a warm fuzzy feeling doesn't it?

Anthony.
 
Nothing from Danny Alexander either.
 
had a reply from my MP Ed Milliband :thumbs: a nice letter on house of commons notepaper dontcha know
turns out he's a Gov Minister .. I didn't kno :shrug: so can't sign
however he says he's written to Tony McNulty, minister for security, counter terrorism, crime and policing, and will write to me again when he has a response.

so far ... a result :woot:
 
sent an email to my mp lets hope they get this one into law it would be nice to take pictures around town without feeling like a terrorist
 
Heard nothing so far so I have resent the letter
 
rikki1q said:
sent an email to my mp lets hope they get this one into law it would be nice to take pictures around town without feeling like a terrorist
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I think you misunderstand a couple of things.

Firstly the purpose of an EDM is not part of the process of getting something into law. But secondly and much more importantly, the law already allows you to photograph in public places with certain (very rare) exceptions. Please stop feeling like a terrorist, because you aren't one :)

The EDM system is being used to raise awareness of our existing freedoms in this area - particularly for the Police force and especially in the case of Community Officers who seem somewhat ignorant of our freedom; which they are supposed to protect.

Anthony.
 
Out of interest, would a shop, coffee bar, swimming pool or childrens play centre be public places (in the meaning of being legal to photograph)?

I was told only today that I was not allowed to photograph in a childrens play centre/coffee bar (combined!).
 
pearce_jj said:
Out of interest, would a shop, coffee bar, swimming pool or childrens play centre be public places (in the meaning of being legal to photograph)?

I was told only today that I was not allowed to photograph in a childrens play centre/coffee bar (combined!).
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Without knowing the precise locations involved, I can only offer an opinion which is that they could easily be private property and the owners could restrict or deny photography if they wished.

Incidentally, with the current erroneous hysteria whipped up regarding all photographers being paedophiles, I am not surprised you were not allowed to use a camera within the play centre.

Anthony.
 
I have two interesting points to add to this discussion.

Firstly, we've all probably seen the 'you cant picture this' video taken at Oxford Circus with the ignorant PCSO? Well, I can 100% confirm that he is still in employment and still trawling along Oxford Street looking for people to harass. I've just seen him on my way home from work!

Secondly, I too wrote to my local MP, Mark Field.

I am lucky (or is that unlucky??) to live in Westminster, a few minutes walk from Oxford Street. This EDM interested me because I am a complete newbie to SLR photography and even now, I choose not to go out and take pictures of the wonderful sights on my doorstep for fear of harassment.

I was expecting a wave of support but infact, he hardly seems bothered. It really gets my goat that the MP of what is one of the most popular places in Europe to practice photography doesn't seem to get the support of its MP.

Here is the complete, unedited reply:

Dear Mr PPP

Thank you very much for your message of 18 March requesting that I signEarly Day Motion 1155, Photography in Public Areas.

I assure you that I am instinctively a libertarian and am generally not in favour of banning things. I share your concerns about the increasing tendency to assume guilt before innocence.

I must confess I personally prefer not to sign too many EDM's as I believe them to bea fairly ineffective way of lobbying the government. Their numbers have exploded since Labour came into power and unfortunately as a consequence their impact has been diminished. Despite having signed EDM's in the past, I believe it is far more effective to make representations directly to the government.

I shall certainly bear your concerns in mind and raise them when appropriate.


Yep, sure you will Mark!
 
As already reported, I had noticed that my MP had signed the EDM. Well, today I received a letter from him telling me that he supported it and had signed it so a result there.
 
Have now recieved reply, he says that as a gov.minister he does not sign EDM's, however he has refered it to the justice dept. & tells me that when he gets a reply he will get in touch. I shall post the reply when I get it.

PS I "e" mailed him the "you can't picture this" clip, just to get the point over

Capt'n
 
If nothing else we're all making our MPs earn a little bit of their salary
 
Well, this campaign seems to be getting somewhere rather than nowhere. I see there are 99 signatures on the EDM now.

Received a letter from my MP (Maria Eagle) this morning:

"Dear Mr MV

Thanks you for your letter regarding EDM 1155.
blah ... don't sign because I'm a member of the government blah ...

However I have written to the Home Office on your behalf regarding photography in public places.

I hope that you find this helpful and I look forward to contacting you once I have received a response

Yours etc Maria Eagle"
 
Looks like David Heyes MP from Ashton-Under-Lyne has welched on his promise to me. His signature STILL hasn't appeared on the list.
 
At least you got a promise, I havent even had the decency of a reply.
 
Done,

Received a very quick reply from my man, in which he refers my concerns to Meg Hillier MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, and asked her to respond to me - I will post any feedback I get.

My MP hasn't signed the EDM.

As an aside : Has anyone contacted Austin Mitchell regarding the support he is getting from this forum ? :clap:
 
john-oh said:
Done,

Received a very quick reply from my man, in which he refers my concerns to Meg Hillier MP
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, and asked her to respond to me - I will post any feedback I get.

My MP hasn't signed the EDM.

As an aside : Has anyone contacted Austin Mitchell regarding the support he is getting from this forum ? :clap:
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We should try and get a mention on the Daily Politics or This Week at least ;)
 
Done ... better late than never!
 
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