38 Degrees have taken out a full-page advert in the local newspaper today urging people to press Lib Dem MP Julian Huppert to oppose the Lobbying Bill. He has been caught out by their excellent researchers -; see an excerpt from their email to supporters below.

My view is clear -; the whole Bill should be thrown out, and a new measure drafted, with proper pre-legislative scrutiny:

“Julian Huppert has been caught out by the excellent researchers at 38 Degrees. He uses a now familiar technique, saying ‘I don’t support the Bill’ to hide the fact that he hasn’t opposed it either. This is an incredibly rushed, poorly-thought through piece of partisan legislation in response to embarrassing revelations concerning Conservative peers over the summer. No-one who has looked at this seriously thinks that it will have any positive impact on lobbying.”

Your MP, Julian Huppert, has been in touch with the 38 Degrees office team to say that he thinks it wasn’t truthful for the office team to claim that he supports the gagging law in our email last week.

It’s an important principle of 38 Degrees to be a clear as possible, so the staff team and Julian Huppert wanted to clear things up. Julian has been vocal with his concerns about the bill -; but he hasn’t actually voted against it.

Here are some of the key details:
•At second reading of the gagging law, where MPs vote on whether or not to give the law consideration, Julian Huppert abstained.

•Before the most recent key votes (on Clause 26 and 27, which are the key parts of the gagging law) a group of MPs, including Julian Huppert, put forward changes to the law to be debated and voted on. But, these were withdrawn because the government said that their concerns would be addressed.

•On the same day another group of MPs put forward changes that would have removed some of the worst parts of the gagging law. And when these changes came to a vote, Julian Huppert voted against these changes and with the government.