The website of Ben Wallace, Member of Parliament for Lancaster & Wyre Constituency.

Here are the Early Day Motions (EDMs) that Ben has signed, in reverse numerical (date) order.

Ben often receives requests from his constituents to sign an Early Day Motion on a subject that they feel is important. He will always consider such requests carefully and sign those EDMs that he feels able to support.

Ben also submits EDMs of his own: for these he is described as the 'Key Sponsor'. If he has been involved in setting up an EDM, but is not the 'Key Sponsor', then he is described as the 'Sponsor'.

The EDMs that Ben has signed to date are listed here, so that constituents need not spend time in contacting him about EDMs that he has already signed. If you would like to ask Ben to sign an EDM that is not listed here, please contact him.

WHAT ARE EARLY DAY MOTIONS?

An Early Day Motion (EDM) is a colloquial term for a motion put forward by an MP for which no date for a debate has been arranged.

The purpose of an EDM is for the MP to put forward and publicise their opinion on a subject and to seek support from other MPs about the matter in question. It is in effective a 'petition' of MPs and serves to show the strength of feeling about particular issues.

It is very unlikely that an EDM will be debated in the House of Commons, but when an EDM receives a lot of support (typically 200+ signatures) then the Government may come under sufficient pressure that it will arrange a debate on the subject.

EDMs vary widely in their content. They are sometimes strongly party political, for example the Opposition taking a stand against the Government. They can also be all-party motions, covering points of view that are held by two or more of the political parties represented in Parliament. EDMs can address local, national and international matters. They are often about very serious matters, but occasionally are used by MPs to make more trivial points of view, such as the outcome of a football match.

A complete list of current EDMs can be viewed here.

To view the text of an EDM, click here and enter the EDM number.

This list was last updated on 11th March 2008. (149 entries.)

EDM No.	EDM Title	Ben's Role
Parliamentary session 2007 / 08
1045	Bruce Forsyth	Supporter
919	Science and Technology Facilities Council	Supporter
890	Feed-in Tariffs for Renewable Electricity	Supporter
799	Labelling System On Bottles And Cans of Alcohol To Show Unit Strength	Sponsor
714	Income Shifting	Supporter
566	Portable Antiquities Scheme	Supporter
423	Mass Extinction of Amphbians	Supporter
317	Open University	Supporter
229	Scotland Football Team	Supporter
161	Chen Guang Cheng	Supporter
95	Honour the Brave Campaign	Supporter
91	Marine Bill and UK Government Policy	Supporter
85	Royal Society of Chemistry's Bill Bryson Science Prize	Supporter
83	Climate Change and Biodiversity	Supporter
81	Measurement of Carbon Emissions	Supporter
80	Local Government and The Merton Rule	Supporter
79	Targets For Microgeneration	Supporter
54	Capital Gains Tax	Supporter
35	Managing Flood Risk	Supporter
34	Orangutans and Palm Oil	Supporter
33	Angling	Supporter
30	EU Animal Welfare	Supporter
29	Fisheries Enforcement and the Royal Navy Fisheries Protection Squadron	Supporter
28	Discarded Fish	Supporter
27	illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fisheries	Supporter
26	Sustainable Fisheries	Supporter
25	Sustainable Fish Sourcing and Supermarkets	Supporter
24	UK Fishing Industry	Supporter
23	Whaling	Supporter
22	Inshore Fisheries and The 10 Metre and Under Fleet	Supporter
21	Marine Environment	Supporter
20	European Fisheries Fund and UK Operational Programme	Supporter
18	Illegal Meat Imports	Supporter
17	Bioenergy	Supporter
16	Country of Origin Food Labelling	Supporter
14	Horse Riding Establishments and Insurance	Supporter
13	Single Farm Payments	Supporter
10	Bovine Tuberculosis	Supporter
1	Royal British Legion's Military Covenant Campaign	Supporter
Parliamentary session 2006 / 07
939A1	Private Equity Companies	Supporter
153A2	Social Housing	Sponsor
2109	Milton Keynes City Status	Sponsor
2079	Belfast Teenage Rape Victim	Supporter
1967	Post Office Strikes	Supporter
1965	Harassment of the Zimbabwe National Students Union	Supporter
1847	My RA Campaign	Supporter
1804	Bingo Clubs	Supporter
1789	Reducing Carbon Monoxide Deaths and Injuries	Supporter
1785	Ofcom's Proposals on Radio Microphones	Supporter
1784	Childhood Leukaemia and Sage	Supporter
1778	Smart Meterings Systems	Supporter
1761	Future of The Territorial Army	Supporter
1753	Veterans' Day	Sponsor
1720	Sir Ian Botham	Supporter
1717	Royal Society of Chemistry's Parliamentry Links Day	Supporter
1685	Falkland Islands Liberation Day	Supporter
1602	Shetland Museum and Archives and the St Ninian's Isle Treasure	Supporter
1568	Morecambe FC	Supporter
1510	Epilepsy and Employment	Supporter
1475	Legal Aid Reform and Family Mediation Services	Supporter
1457	50th Anniversary of Christian Aid Week	Supporter
1333	Ancient History A-Level	Supporter
1312	Resilient Communications	Sponsor
1246	First Aid Education	Supporter
1240	NHS Homeopathic Hospitals	Supporter
1202	Grandparents' Rights	Supporter
1148	Pilot Scheme for the Licensing of Poppy Crops in Afghanistan	Supporter
1113	End Water Poverty Campaign	Supporter
1107	Tranquillity	Supporter
1102	Arrests in Zimbabwe	Supporter
1016	Vulture Fund Debt Claim Against Zambia	Supporter
1008	BT and Financial Exclusion	Supporter
961	Competition Commission Supermarket Inquiry	Supporter
930	Fairtrade Fortnight	Supporter
912	Unicef Report On Child Poverty And Deprivation In Britain	Supporter
864	Single Farm Payment And Dairy Farming	Supporter
863	House of Commons Votes	Supporter
852	Visit Of Robert Mugabe To France	Supporter
823	Casino Advisory Panel and Blackpool	Sponsor
787	Referendum on European Treaties	Supporter
786	Falklands 25th Anniversary	Supporter
738	Government's Legal Aid Proposals	Supporter
730	Rail Freight And The Environment	Supporter
704	Clostridium Difficile	Supporter
693	Environmental Liability Directive and English Wildlife	Supporter
692	Enviromental Liability Directive and Genetically Modified Organisims	Supporter
658	Religious Restrictions, Discrimination and Persecution in Burma	Supporter
502	Protection of Brownfield Wildlife Sites	Supporter
468	Sustainable Communities	Supporter
450	Falkland Islands Battle Day	Supporter
422	Support for Christian Unions	Sponsor
392	National System for Investigation and Registration of Deaths	Sponsor
377	Hungry To Be Heard Campaign	Supporter
354	Local Pay Proposals in the Department for Constitutional Affairs	Supporter
321	Every Disabled Child Matters Campaign	Supporter
283	Animals in Medical Research	Supporter
280	Labelling of Meat Products	Supporter
272	Allotments	Supporter
241	People Affected By Occupational Pensions Scheme Wind-Ups	Supporter
227	Shooting Of Tibetans	Supporter
191	Burning the Union Flag	Sponsor
182	Homelessness 40 Years After Cathy Come Home Broadcast	Supporter
179	Software in Schools	Supporter
132	Illegal Logging	Supporter
106	Lost Occupational Pensions	Supporter
101	Standing Areas At Football grounds	Supporter
100	Renewable Energy	Supporter
99	Combined Heat and Power	Supporter
98	United Nations World Environment Day	Supporter
94	Development in Flood Risk Areas	Supporter
90	Inland Waterways (no 2)	Supporter
87	Train Horns	Supporter
66	Greyhounds	Supporter
65	Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Regulations	Supporter
64	Discarded Fish	Supporter
63	Whales	Supporter
62	Local Food is Miles Better Campaign	Supporter
61	Shooting's Contribution to Conservation and The Economy	Supporter
59	Food Labelling	Supporter
58	Climate Change	Supporter
57	Rural Development	Supporter
56	UK Fishermen	Supporter
55	Bridleways	Supporter
54	Animal Welfare Label	Supporter
52	EU Animal Welfare	Supporter
51	Marine Stewardship Report	Supporter
50	Inland Waterways	Supporter
49	Animal Welfare	Supporter
48	Genetically Modified Crops	Supporter
47	Sustainable Fishing	Supporter
46	Mobility for Blind People	Supporter
45	Bovine Tuberculosis	Supporter
41	Biodiversity (No.2)	Supporter
36	Biofuels	Supporter
35	Biomass	Supporter
34	UK Tourism	Supporter
30	Wildlife Crime	Supporter
29	Make Them Pay By Christmas Day Campaign	Supporter
28	Rural Poverty	Supporter
20	Post Office Network	Supporter
19	Small Shops	Supporter
18	UK Competitiveness	Supporter
15	International Arms Trade Treaty	Supporter
14	Doha Trade Talks	Supporter
13	Fair, Just and Free Trade	Supporter
12	Action for Darfur	Supporter
Parliamentary session 2005 / 06
2588	Exeter hip implant	Supporter
2526	Filling a vacancy for Deputy Leader of the Labour Party	Supporter
1675	Stop-the-Rot Campaign	Key Sponsor