1.       Get together

All it takes is two or three friends or neighbours to get started. You will need a couple of hours each week to get the petition going and gather signatures. First, work out what mechanisms exist to approach your council. If it is not clear from their website ask a friendly councillor. For example, Islington’s Green Party councillor Caroline Russell told us we could ask Islington a question with the right to a follow-up question. She also told us that a petition with at least 2,000 signatures could trigger a debate.

2.       Launch a petition

Setting up an online petition could not be simpler. We recommend 38degrees, because it is free, takes minutes to launch, lets you send regular email updates to your supporters, and makes it easy to add paper signatures to your online total.  

Please re-use as much as the text of this petition as possible – just cut and paste and change the location.

Please do tell us you have gone live, and share a point of contact for your group so we can share knowledge and support. We will add your petition to our site and give it as much reach as we can.  

3.       Collect signatures online

As soon as your petition has gone live, it is ready to share with others in your borough. Nudge those closest to you to sign before sharing more widely – that will give your petition a head start. Then share with your wider contacts by email, on social media, on the likes of NextDoor and, if you have them, your neighbourhood’s Whatsapp groups.  

4.       Collect signatures on paper

Download and print out a number of these paper forms, and canvas on your local streets. Some of your neighbours may even agree to gather signatures themselves – leave them a sheet or two with your contact details on the back for you to collect later.

Good locations include the weekly market and the local park on a busy day. The fun part of face-to-face campaigning is the huge amount of support you will receive. In our experience, there are very few detractors, and younger people are amazingly supportive.

5.       Keep a total

38degrees allows you to import the signatures you have gathered on paper in to your online petition, so that your page reflects your latest results. To do this, log in (as the petition creator), click on ‘Collect signatures on paper’, and scroll down to ‘Enter petition signatures’.
However, this is not essential – what matters is that you gather the required number of signatures overall. In any event, keep your paper petition sheets safe as they will be handed in together with the print-out of your online petition once you have reached your goal.

6.       Keep up the momentum

If numbers are sluggish at first, do not be discouraged – we have found that even friends who promise they will sign can be slow to do so.

Invite your local paper to join you on one of your outings. They will likely contact both the Council officials in charge of planning and local councillors for comment, further raising awareness.

It is fine to ask friends and neighbours more than once. After you have gathered a few hundred signatures on your online petition, email your supporters to ask them to invite their friends or neighbourhood groups to sign. 38degrees provides an easy form for you to do so. If you have received local press coverage, that is a good moment to mention it.

7.       Presenting your petition to the Council

When you are ready to hand over your petition to the Council, try to do it in person, and invite our local media along. In Islington, our aim is a full Council debate, followed by a similar opportunity at the London Assembly. We will be sharing our progress and preparations ahead of these sessions with our friends in other areas soon.

8.       Share knowledge

Do you have friends who support the cause but do not live in your borough? Encourage them to run their own campaign also by sharing this page with them.

And please keep us informed of your progress so we can share it in our campaign to get a debate in the London Assembly and in any further national media campaign.

Good luck!