Take Action

What can you do?

Online Government Petitions
Although these petition are hosted on the 10 Downing Street web site and a petition in itself is hardly going to rock the government, if significant numbers of people register their protest at the state of the navy it will make politicians realise they can't just get away with 'quiet' cuts un-noticed.

Increase the size of the Royal Navy
Fudamentally a sound proposal, although the petition creator has suggested exact types and numbers of vessels which will always be controversial. Anyway we reccommend you sign the petition.

Order 10 x Type 45 Destroyers
Richard Carling has recently created a specific petition calling on the government to order 10 Type 45 destroyers and consider a total of 12. You can sign it here.

Previous Petitions
The last naval campaign petition attracted a rather dissapointing 360 signatures and the government has provided its usual disingenuous response. A previous petition (that expired in April 2007) attracted over 14,000 signatures.

Write to your MP
There will be a wide variation in MPs attitudes and knowledge of RN issues. However writing a letter to them asking them if they will challenge the government about the decline of the RN will at least cause them to think about the issue. This sort of action will help dispel the idea that 'there are no votes in defence". Tory MPs will probably at least vaguely in agreement with your point. Labour MP's will probably give you the standard smokescreen about "the largest shipbuilding programme..." If you don't know who your MP is or their address, you can find out at www.writetothem.com by simply entering your postcode.

Write to the Secretary of State for Defence

John Hutton replaced the utterly inefectual Des Browne as Secretary of State for Defence on 3rd October 2008. As MP for Barrow in Furness, a ship building town, he at least has some proir interest in the RN. With a reputation for 'good business management' let's hope he can sort out some of the chaos in the MoD, although in the short term he is unlikely to get the funds that are really needed.

You can contact the minister through an online form here or write to him at MOD Ministerial Correspondence Unit, 5th Floor, Zone A, Main Building, Whitehall, London SW1A 2HB

Start a blog

The power of the internet has made it much easier to get your voice heard. If you have specific expertise about RN issues, relevant experience or like the authors of this site, just want to get your voice heard, why not start a blog? You don't need much technical knowledge about web design and you can even do it for free. Using tools such as Blogger (which powers parts of this site) they will host your blog and provide a simple interface. If you want to make an impact be sure to use good English and be factually accurate.

Write to the press / comment online
Writing a stiff letter to the Times may seem like an old fashioned approach favoured by retired admirals but most newspapers and magazines do still print letters which can shape opinions. However the internet is a fast and free way to get the message out there. Whenever RN-related articles appear online in the media (such as BBC News Online, Telegraph Online etc), there is often an opportunity to comment on the story or vote in a poll. Try make positive and accurate posts and resist the temptation to make sarcastic comments!

Raising Awareness

Tell your friends

Spreading the word to those who will listen is a valuable contribution. There is no need to become a "naval bore" but the more people understand the need for the RN, the better. The Government has got away with so many cuts to the RN over the years mainly because the media has ignored naval issues and most people are ignorant of purpose and the state of the RN.

The RN presentation team
If your company or organisation can be persuaded and you can gather a group of 40 or more people, you can invite the RN presentation team to visit. In a largely ignorant society, this can help raise awareness of the purpose and need for the RN. You can submit a request for them to visit or find out where they are scheduled to give presentations on the RN web site here.

Riot!
Well maybe not... But unfortunately the ideas listed on this page won't exactly bring down the government unless huge numbers respond. All you can do is spread the word and make you voice heard. Sadly the media is mostly only interested when things go wrong. Unless there is urgent action there will undoubtedly be a 'crunch point' in the future when the RN is unable to "fight and win". So do what you can now.

We welcome any suggestions and comments and you can contact us here.