Sikh Lobby & Candlelit Vigil - Houses Of Parliament, London

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Sikh Lobby and Candlelit Vigil at the Houses of Parliament in London on Tuesday 30 October - Aim to arrive by 11am

Over 150 MPs have been contacted by Sikh constituents and informed about the Sikh Lobby and Candlelit Vigil at the Houses of Parliament in London on Tuesday 30 October.

The day will begin with the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for UK Sikhs meeting between 11.30am-1.30pm in Committee Room 18. We are expecting numerous speakers, including Bruce Kent, Chair of the Coalition for Religious Freedoms, who will be speaking at around 11.45am. Brian Adams, the Asia Director for Human Rights Watch, will speak at around 12.15pm. There are likely to be at least 30-40 UK MPs in attendance. A numbers of MPs will also be speaking about the issues being raised during the lobby. Seating in Committee Room 18 will be limited so please aim to arrive at the St Stephen’s entrance by 11am.

The APPG meeting will be followed by a lobby between 1.30-3.30pm where Sikhs will meet other MPs. From 3.30pm a candlelit vigil will begin outside the Houses of Parliament, which will be in remembrance of the anti-Sikh pogroms of November 1984. Politicians are expected to join Sikhs for the candlelit vigil.

The advert for the Sikh Lobby and Candlelit Vigil is reproduced below and has been in Awaze Qaum for the last two weeks. It has also appeared in Panjab Times this week. The Awaze Qaum adverts have been sponsored by the Sikh Federation (UK). The advert in Panjab Times is believed to have been sponsored by the Akhand Kirtani Jatha. It was expected that an advert in Des Pardes and The Sikh Times would have appeared and have been sponsored by other organisations mentioned in the advert that have in the past placed adverts.

The MPs contacted by Sikh constituents are listed below:

• 
  
• Adam Holloway - Gravesham (Con)
  
• Adrian Bailey - West Bromwich West (Lab)
  
• Alan Johnson - Kingston upon Hull West & Hessle (Lab)
  
• Alan Keen - Feltham & Heston (Lab)
  
• Alan Milburn - Darlington (Lab)
  
• Alan Simpson - Nottingham South (Lab)
  
• Alan Whitehead - Southampton, Test (Lab)
  
• Alex Salmond - Banff & Buchan (SNP)
  
• Andrew Dismore - Hendon (Lab)
  
• Andrew George - St Ives (LD)
  
• Andrew Love - Edmonton (Lab)
  
• Andrew Mitchell – Sutton Coldfield (Con)
  
• Andrew Pelling - Croydon Central (Con)
  
• Andrew Robathan - Blaby (Con)
  
• Andrew Selous - South West Bedfordshire (Con)
  
• Andy Reed - Loughborough (Lab)
  
• Andy Slaughter - Ealing, Acton & Shepherd's Bush (Lab)
  
• Ann Clwyd - Cynon Valley (Lab)
  
• Ann Keen - Brentford & Isleworth (Lab)
  
• Ann McKechin - Glasgow North (Lab)
  
• Ashok Kumar - Middlesbrough South & East Cleveland (Lab)
  
• Ashok Kumar - Middlesbrough South & East Cleveland (Lab)
  
• Austin Mitchell - Great Grimsby (Lab)
  
• Barry Gardiner – Brent North (Lab)
  
• Barry Sheerman - Huddersfield (Lab)
  
• Ben Bradshaw - Exeter (Lab)
  
• Bob Ainsworth - Coventry North East (Lab)
  
• Bob Laxton - Derby North (Lab)
  
• Bob Neill - Bromley & Chislehurst (Con)
  
• Brian Binley - Northampton South (Con)
  
• Bridget Prentice - Lewisham East (Lab)
  
• Bruce George - Walsall South (Lab)
  
• Chris Huhne - Eastleigh (LD)
  
• Claire Ward - Watford (Lab)
  
• Clive Efford - Eltham (Lab)
  
• David Burrowes - Enfield, Southgate (Con)
  
• David Gauke - South West Hertfordshire (Con)
  
• David Kidney - Stafford (Lab)
  
• David Taylor - North West Leicestershire (Lab)
  
• David Tredinnick - Bosworth (Con)
  
• David Winnick - Walsall North (Lab)
  
• Dawn Primarolo - Bristol South (Lab)
  
• Diane Abbott - Hackney North & Stoke Newington (Lab)
  
• Dominic Grieve - Beaconsfield (Con)
  
• Doug Henderson - Newcastle upon Tyne North (Lab)
  
• Doug Naysmith - Bristol North West (Lab)
  
• Douglas Alexander - Paisley & Renfrewshire South (Lab)
  
• Edward Davey - Kingston and Surbiton (LD)
  
• Edward Garnier - Harborough (Con)
  
• Elfyn Llwyd - Meirionnydd Nant Conwy (PC)
  
• Elliot Morley - Scunthorpe (Lab)
  
• Eric Pickles - Brentwood & Ongar (Con)
  
• Evan Harris - Oxford West & Abingdon (LD)
  
• Fabian Hamilton - Leeds North East (Lab)
  
• Fiona Mactaggart - Slough (Lab)
  
• Frank Dobson - Holborn & St Pancras (Lab)
  
• Gareth Thomas - Harrow West (Lab)
  
• Geoff Hoon - Ashfield (Lab)
  
• Geoffrey Robinson - Coventry North West (Lab)
  
• George Mudie - Leeds East (Lab)
  
• Gerry Sutcliffe - Bradford South (Lab)
  
• Gisela Stuart - Birmingham, Edgbaston (Lab)
  
• Greg Hands - Hammersmith & Fulham (Con)
  
• Harry Cohen - Leyton & Wanstead (Lab)
  
• Howard Stoate - Dartford (Lab)
  
• Ian Austin - Dudley North (Lab)
  
• Ian Pearson - Dudley South (Lab)
  
• James Plaskitt - Warwick & Leamington (Lab)
  
• Jennifer Willot - Cardiff Central (LD)
  
• Jim Cousins - Newcastle upon Tyne Central (Lab)
  
• Jim Cunningham - Coventry South (Lab)
  
• Jim Fitzpatrick - Poplar & Canning Town (Lab)
  
• Jim McGovern - Dundee West (lab)
  
• John Austin - Erith & Thamesmead (Lab)
  
• John Battle - West Leeds (Lab)
  
• John Denham - Southampton, Itchen (Lab)
  
• John Hemming - Birmingham, Yardley (LD)
  
• John Heppell - Nottingham East (Lab)
  
• John McDonnell - Hayes & Harlington (Lab)
  
• John Randall - Uxbridge (Con)
  
• John Spellar - Warley (Lab)
  
• Jon Cruddas - Dagenham (Lab)
  
• Jonathan Shaw - Chatham & Aylesford (Lab)
  
• Julie Kirkbride - Bromsgrove (Con)
  
• Justine Greening - Putney (Con)
  
• Keith Hill - Streatham (Lab)
  
• Keith Vaz - Leicester East (Lab)
  
• Kelvin Hopkins - Luton North (Lab)
  
• Ken Purchase - Wolverhampton North East (Lab)
  
• Kerry McCarthy - Bristol East (Lab)
  
• Khalid Mahmood - Birmingham Perry Barr (Lab)
  
• Laura Moffatt - Crawley (Lab)
  
• Lyn Brown - West Ham (Lab)
  
• Lynne Jones - Birmingham, Selly Oak (Lab)
  
• Malcolm Rifkind - Kensington & Chelsea (Con)
  
• Margaret Beckett - Derby South (Lab)
  
• Margaret Hodge - Barking (Lab)
  
• Margaret Moran - Luton South (Lab)
  
• Mark Fisher - Stoke-on-Trent Central (Lab)
  
• Mark Hendrick - Preston (Lab)
  
• Mark Lancaster - North East Milton Keynes (Con)
  
• Mark Oaten - Winchester (LD)
  
• Mark Pritchard - Wrekin, The (Con)
  
• Mark Todd - South Derbyshire (Lab)
  
• Marsha Singh - Bradford West (Lab)
  
• Martin Salter - Reading West (Lab)
  
• Michael Meacher – Oldham West & Royton (Lab)
  
• Michael Penning - Hemel Hempstead (Con)
  
• Michael Wills - North Swindon (Lab)
  
• Mike Gapes - Ilford South (Lab)
  
• Mohammad Sarwar - Glasgow Central (Lab)
  
• Nicholas Palmer - Broxtowe (Lab)
  
• Nick Raynsford - Greenwich & Woolwich (Lab)
  
• Parmjit Dhanda - Gloucester (Lab)
  
• Pat McFadden - Wolverhampton South East (Lab)
  
• Patricia Hewitt - Leicester West (Lab)
  
• Patrick Hall - Bedford (Lab)
  
• Peter Kilfoyle - Liverpool, Walton (Lab)
  
• Peter Lilley - Hitchin & Harpenden (Con)
  
• Peter Luff - Mid Worcestershire (Con)
  
• Philip Hollobone - Kettering (Con)
  
• Phyllis Starkey - Milton Keynes South West (Lab)
  
• Richard Burden - Birmingham, Northfield (Lab)
  
• Richard Ottaway - Croydon South (Con)
  
• Rob Marris - Wolverhampton South West (Lab)
  
• Robert Wilson - Reading East (Con)
  
• Roger Berry - Kingswood (Lab)
  
• Roger Godsiff – Birmingham, Sparkbrook & Small Heath (Lab)
  
• Rosie Winterton - Doncaster Central (Lab)
  
• Ruth Kelly - Bolton West (Lab)
  
• Sally Keeble - Northampton North (Lab)
  
• Sandra Gidley - Romsey (LD)
  
• Sharon Hodgson - Gateshead East & Washington West (Lab)
  
• Simon Hughes - North Southwark & Bermondsey (LD)
  
• Sion Simon - Birmingham, Erdington (Lab)
  
• Sir Peter Soulsby - Leicester South (Lab)
  
• Stephen Dorrell - Charnwood (Con)
  
• Stephen Pound - Ealing North (Lab)
  
• Stephen Timms - East Ham (Lab)
  
• Stephen Williams - Bristol West (LD)
  
• Steve Webb - Northavon (LD)
  
• Stewart Jackson - Peterborough (Con)
  
• Stuart Bell - Middlesbrough (Lab)
  
• Terry Rooney - Bradford North (Lab)
  
• Tessa Jowell - Dulwich & West Norwood (Lab)
  
• Theresa May – Maidenhead (Con)
  
• Theresa Villiers - Chipping Barnet (Con)
  
• Tom Brake - Carshalton & Wallington (LD)
  
• Tom Watson - West Bromwich East (Lab)
  
• Tony Baldry - Banbury (Con)
  
• Tony Lloyd - Manchester Central (Lab)
  
• Tony Wright - Cannock Chase (Lab)
  
• Vernon Coaker - Gedling (Lab)
  
• Virendra Sharma - Ealing, Southall (Lab)
  
  

[SaRpAnCh]

Virinder Sharma the Bhaman won't go i can assure you.

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

Virinder Sharma the Bhaman won't go i can assure you.

He has been contacted by Sikh constituents as he is an MP from a constituency with many Sikhs. We will have to wait to see if he turns up. I do not think his predecessor (Piara Khabra) ever turned up to any of the Sikh lobbies.

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

See

http://www.sikhsangat.com/index.php?showtopic=31838&hl=

SIKHS TO LOBBY FOR GREATER INFLUENCE

Bristol Evening Post

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

The following members of the House of Lords have also been contacted and invited to attend the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for UK Sikhs meeting on Tuesday 30 October from 11.30am to 1.30pm in Committee Room 18.

They have also been asked to join Sikhs between 3.30pm and 7.30pm for the Candlelit Vigil outside the Houses of Parliament to mark the 23rd anniversary of the anti-Sikh pogroms of November 1984.

Sikhs that meet their own constituency MP at the APPG meeting before 1.30pm may wish to note the details of these members of the House of Lords as they can also be covered in the lobby between 1.30pm and 3.30pm.

• 
  
• Lord Avebury (LD)
  
• Lord Tomlinson (Lab)
  
• Baroness Cox (Crossbench)
  
• Lord McNally (LD)
  
• Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench)
  
• Baroness Ludford (LD)
  
• Lord Bilston (Lab)
  
• Baroness Williams of Crosby (LD)
  
• Lord King of West Bromwich (Lab)
  
• Lord Carlile of Berriew (LD)
  
• Baroness Warsi (Con)
  
• Lord Ahmed (Lab)
  
• Lord Lester of Herne Hill (LD)
  
• Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean (Lab)
  

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

It would be good if we can post a selection of responses from MPs that have confirmed they will be taking part in the APPG for UK Sikhs meeting, the Sikh Lobby, Candlelit Vigil etc.

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

It would be good if we can post a selection of responses from MPs that have confirmed they will be taking part in the APPG for UK Sikhs meeting, the Sikh Lobby, Candlelit Vigil etc.

ALAN KEEN MP

Member for Feltham and Heston since 9 April 1992 general election

Thank you for your email to Alan Keen MP regarding the meeting of the UK Sikhs APPG on 30 October.

The meeting is in Mr Keen's diary and he very much hopes to attend.

Kind regards

Tim Green

Parliamentary Assistant to Alan Keen MP

House of Commons

LONDON SW1A 0AA

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

It would be good if we can post a selection of responses from MPs that have confirmed they will be taking part in the APPG for UK Sikhs meeting, the Sikh Lobby, Candlelit Vigil etc.

ROGER GODSIFF MP

Member for Birmingham Small Heath 1992-97, for Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath since 1 May 1997 general election

Thank you for your email advising me of the All Party Group for UK Sikhs which are holding a meeting in Committee Room 18 on Tuesday 30th August between 11.30 a.m. and 1.30 p.m.

I will certainly try and call in at the meeting but, in any event, I am more than happy to meet you and any other constituents you are bringing with you. If you can give me an indication as to what time you will be arriving, and the time that you intend to travel back to Birmingham then I will certainly make arrangements to see you and other constituents even if I cannot get to the meeting.

Kind regards,

Roger Godsiff

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

It would be good if we can post a selection of responses from MPs that have confirmed they will be taking part in the APPG for UK Sikhs meeting, the Sikh Lobby, Candlelit Vigil etc.

LYN BROWN MP

Member for West Ham since 5 May 2005 general election

Lyn has expressed an interest in attending the meeting, although due to her busy schedule I cannot guarantee that she will be able to attend. She has asked if you could confirm the names and addresses of the members of her constituency who would be attending.

Thanks,

Emily

Emily James

Office of Lyn Brown MP

Member of Parliament for West Ham

Telephone 020 7219 6999

[/b]

[JagtarSinghKhalsa]

It would be good if we can post a selection of responses from MPs that have confirmed they will be taking part in the APPG for UK Sikhs meeting, the Sikh Lobby, Candlelit Vigil etc.

CLAIRE WARD MP

Member for Watford since 1 May 1997 general election

Claire Ward MP has passed on your email to me regarding the possibility of her attending the APPG meeting on Tuesday 30 October. Claire hopes to call in at the meeting, Parliamentary business permitting.

With thanks,

Pippa Cracknell

Office of Claire Ward MP