22/03/2005 - Bill to encourage tightening of control of mobile phone base stations (Updated)

The debate is due to be continued on Friday 22nd April 2005. Please contact your MP and ask them to turn up and support this bill. This is really important! Thanks.

Background

These private member's bills are introduced on Fridays when most MPs will be going home to their constituencies on the Thursday evening. This was why so few MPs were around to vote for its earlier incarnation put forward by Richard Spring - that was also put down on a Friday. It is a Government tactic to show little support for the Bill. It is really important to flag to your MP that it will noted who turns up and votes for this new version of the bill and their names will be widely circulated. This is a large concern for members of the public and MPs who do not support this Bill on Friday 22nd April are likely to lose the support of many of their potential voters in the General Election - we suggest that you tell them this!

This bill moved from the Conservatives to the Liberal Democrats, but the original author was Chris Maille of Planning Sanity. There have been a number of improvements and the latest version contains a great deal of good sense.

There seems to be no will in the present Government to tighten up on the control of mobile phone base stations, so I think that all of us who are concerned need to keep up the pressure. Supporting this Bill would be an excellent way to do that.

Powerwatch is convinced that mobile phone base stations are a much bigger threat to public health than the phones themselves - although we do have worries about pulsed RF radiation having a synergistic effect with alcohol and drugs, possibly leading the the increase in violence experienced in many city centres.

Please also have a look at our article on low-height base stations.

The Stunnel bill would put a stop to these low-height no-permission-needed base station installations.