Actually,
Jess, another constitutional right which the individual has, is to request a meeting with his or her Member of Parliament, at the House of Commons (be aware that MP's are elected representatives/servants of the electorate and that there is an absolute right of access). I have made such requests in the distant past, have always received very courteous replies and have invariably been granted meetings at the Commons, the tone of which has usually been most genial.
Whilst you will not change the world at a stroke, your MP will inevitably be affected in some way by what is said face-to-face, even if only to a limited degree, but he or she will certainly be affected by the fact of your getting off your backside and taking the trouble to personally and trenchantly enunciate your view on a subject of some considerable importance (such as JPA). A letter to an MP can easily be filed and forgotten, after a minion has sent out a two line BS reply.
If enough service voters take this course of action and it is picked up by the press, a national scandal may result (heaven forbid) and unfavourable comparisons made between the superb handling of the commercial sector’s vast IT projects (think high street banks, building societies etc) and the pathetically slipshod, incompetent handling of similar government projects.
Remember also that a very large number of “New Labour” MP’s are no longer in thrall to Bliar and his coterie and would be absolutely delighted to make trouble for the slippery little ba****d through the device of an Early Day Motion, which would firmly put the cat amongst the pigeons.
It’s called democracy in action.
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