38 Degrees members have just taken part in the UK’s first ever mass phone call with a government minister, with Ed Miliband, Minister for Energy and Climate Change. 1000s of us chose the questions together, and 38 Degrees members put them to Ed Miliband direct – sending a clear message that we want him to fight for a good deal at the climate talks in Copenhagen.

Next week, he’ll be sitting around the negotiating table with our words ringing in his ears.

You can hear a recording of the whole call here: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/live

Now we need to keep up the pressure. Callers found common ground with Ed Miliband on the urgent importance of tackling climate change and we recognised good progress in some important areas. But there were other areas where we wanted him to go further -  for example on the scale of emissions cuts needed by 2020, on phasing out dirty coal power stations, and on money to help developing countries tackle climate change.  During the Copenhagen summit we can work together as a rapid response team, to pile on the pressure for a fair, ambitious and binding deal at Copenhagen. Click here to get involved with our Copenhagen rapid response plans: http://www.38degrees.org.uk/copenhagen-swarm

No government minister has ever been part of a call like this before. It was a credit to the Minister that he was willing to engage, but it happened because by campaigning together we’ve got the government’s attention. Everyone who took part – the people who asked the questions, those who commented online and everyone who voted in our question poll were all part of it: it’s yet more proof that people power works.

Together, we asked Ed Miliband the kind of searching questions that made sure he understands that there are millions of people who want him to fight for a good deal at the talks. Obviously not everyone got to ask their question, but we made sure Mr Miliband left with a copy of every single suggested question to read later.

Thanks for being involved.

UPDATE: We’ve grouped together the 12 most common suggestions for question areas from the blog, facebook, and the registration form, and set up a poll to prioritise between these.  You can now help pick the questions here: http://38degrees.org.uk/page/s/PickQs4Miliband

This Saturday, we will have a direct line to the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.  Ed Miliband will be on the phone answering our questions before he heads off to the summit at Copenhagen next week.

Hundreds of us have signed up with questions to put to Ed and I’ve been taking a look at the list.  So far questions range from the irreverent  –  ‘How much time have I got?’  –  to the deadly serious.  But what are the most important things we should be asking him?

Our phonecall with Ed is happening on the same day as The Wave, a massive march through London, organised by Stop Climate Chaos.  For many of us, SCC demands are the starting point for questions. These demands are:

(1)  That the UK government seeks to secure a fair deal at Copenhagen to limit global warming to 2 degrees C.

(2)   That the UK government commit to funds on top of existing aid commitments, to help poorer countries adapt to climate change.

(3)  That the UK end its reliance on dirty coal power.

Many of us will want to know where Ed stands on these aims.

For others who signed up with questions, different issues are just as pressing. How the UK is planning to put pressure on the US at Copenhagen is a question that is top of a lot of people’s lists, including my own.  We need to secure commitments from the world’s second biggest carbon emitter, but this isn’t an easy task.  Another key concern is renewable energy. Why aren’t we investing more money in this?  Finally, many of us want to know what Ed’s strategy is for helping the UK population meet their personal emission targets. Will he use the carrot, the stick, or both?

Tomorrow our online poll will open so that you can help us decide what the most important questions to ask Ed are.  In the meantime keep your thoughts and suggestions coming by signing up on our website, or joining the conversation on twitter and facebook.

10:10 in Parliament

Something exciting happened yesterday. 10,000 of us told our MP we want them to be bold and show leadership in tackling climate change, by bringing emissions down as quickly as they can, now.

After 3 hours of debate, the original motion was beaten in a vote. 226 MPs voted for Parliament to sign up to 10:10, 297 voted against.

However, the government amendment which did pass promised some new money and more effort to accelerate the pace of emissions reductions. MPs of all parties said they’d heard a loud message from their constituents and were pushed to reaffirm their commitment to tackling climate change. Not 10% in 2010 (yet), but definitely progress.

We’ll be keeping up the pressure on MPs of all parties to show leadership on climate change, both to secure a strong and fair deal at Copenhagen and to ensure that we reduce our own emissions as quickly as possible.

People power forcing politicians to sit up and take notice on important issues is what 38 Degrees is all about. Together we’ll keep up the pressure on politicians to deliver on climate change and other issues.

In the meantime, if you haven’t already joined the 10:10 campaign, you can find out more and sign up here: http://www.1010uk.org/1010/38degrees

Here are some stories of people power in action from 38 Degrees members who phoned their MPs yesterday:

“My MP was in a meeting (when I called), but his PA assured me that he has already had many, many calls. He is fully aware of the strength of feeling on the subject and he has changed his schedule so he can attend the meeting tonight and vote for the 10:10 campaign.”

“My MP is Angela Browning. It was surprisingly easy to get through to her secretary but she was not there. He was gobsmacked at the phone call, promised to pass on the message and said he felt sure she would vote in favour of the motion.”

“I can’t believe that I actually got put through to my MP!”

“Not available to speak to but heard them say that it was another 10:10 call! I think they are busy!!”

“I spoke to her secretary and she was very polite and ensured me that she would pass the message to Meg before the vote. She took my email and promised to let me know Meg’s thoughts. It felt rather wonderfully empowering to actually feel like there might be some democratic influence on the outcome. Fingers crossed!”

“I called my MP Emily Thornberry from Australia. I’m here temporarily but wanted to make my feelings known re 10:10. I left a message with a helpful staff member, with details of my name and address, and made it clear I was calling from Australia and therefore felt very strongly about the 10:10 campaign (it costs a fair bit to call from so far away via a mobile)”

“Response was that he WILL be voting pro 10:10 later today.”

The response had undertones of “not another person phoning” – so that’s great. Keep up the good work. There’s something rather empowering about the idea of a phone call being able to reach deep into the heart of our political machine.

You can find out more about the 10:10 campaign and commit to going 1010 yourself over on the 10:10 website.

What do you think our next steps should be? Did you contact your MP? If so how did it go? Tell us in the comments below.