You are looking so good! Ladies and gentlemen. Let's ride.
Thank you to everyone who wrote to EC President Jose Manuel Barroso. 11,500 people took time out let him and his EC colleagues know what they thought about plans to cut environmental funding from the Common Agriculture Policy, revealed by the RSPB just over a week ago.
Don't yawn. Admittedly the CAP is legislation wrapped in verbage so dense it should be used to shield nuclear reactors, but it is an important mechanism that will help us reach the target of not losing wildlife by the year 2020. Strange then that the people who signed agreements setting the 2020 targets then try to scupper it with a swift witdrawal of funding with no consultation.
Diplomats and journalists agree that it was those letters people like you sent to Mr Barroso that halted the funding axe mid-swing. We should celebrate our success.
As usual, this major leap forward, where Londoners and countryfolk came together with a single voice was a vast leap forward, it is just a small step-up in the climb towards 2020. It seems the budget was saved, but not increased to a level where it keeps up with the game, so funding in real-terms has shrunk. Nature will once again limp towards 2020 wondering how many species will see 2021.
Don't despair. We're trying to untangle the true meaning or the agreement, discover and fix the loopholes and will then be stepping up action once again, urging to MP's here to help us sow seeds in Brussels that will allow the CAP to take root, blossom and bear fruit.