Alison Crane, Group Against Motorway Expansion

“We don’t have to accept all that the Government gives.”

Group Against Motorway Expansion

Alison Crane is a member of the Group Against Motorway Expansion (GAME), which is campaigning against the proposed widening of the M6 through Cheshire and Staffordshire.

GAME successfully campaigned against the Government’s proposal in July 2004 to build a tolled expressway parallel to the M6, which was rejected two years later. Whilst this was a great victory, GAME believes that widening the M6 instead is not the answer: it would simply mean an increase in traffic and more CO2 emissions. “As a transport campaigner you have to think of the broader environmental perspective. It is the prospect of climate change that helps motivate me to campaign for a better transport system,” says Alison.

The group is funded by individual donations which it collects at stalls, at meetings and through its newsletters. It has also received grants from Road Block, the cosmetics company Lush, and the Manuka Club.

Run a postcard campaign

GAME has run several very successful postcard campaigns. The group prints postcards with a cartoon on the front and a campaigning message on the back, with the address of a politician. These they hand out to local people, who fill in their own names and addresses before sending them.

The first set of postcards were sent to the then Transport Minister, when he was deciding whether to widen the road. The second set went to the Chancellor, complaining about the cost of the proposals, and the third set targeted the new cabinet following Gordon Brown’s reshuffle.

See the third set of postcards:

Postcard fronts

Postcard backs

Alison tells us how the group uses the postcards: “We’ve used them in a number of ways. We’ve left some in village Post Offices following publicity in local newspapers, and handed out others to parents outside schools near the motorway. We always have them available at our stalls, and encourage supporters to hand them out to friends.

“The postcards meet different aims. They bring in people to our stalls and give them something constructive to do, which they like. They get us publicity in the local papers. And above all they show politicians that we’re an organised, well-supported campaign, and we’re not going away!”

Stay in touch

With over 100 people on its mailing list, GAME sends out regular emails to update supporters on its progress. In these emails it advertises meetings anyone is welcome to attend and asks people to write to their own MPs to highlight the issue. In this way, the group builds relationships with its supporters, ensuring communication is clear and goes both ways.

Hold a successful stall

GAME involves local people in its campaign through its fantastic stalls. Alison explains: “Our stalls are set up in the centres of Stafford and Newcastle under Lyme, for four hours each Saturday morning. I’m involved in the Stafford stall. We try to have two people on at any one time. Each person works a two-hour shift, which means we need four in total. We keep all the stall materials – a pasting table, posters and literature – at the nearby Quaker Meeting House and transport them on a trolley.

“The stalls are on public property, not in a privately-owned shopping centre, and we aren’t selling anything, so we’ve never been told to move by the authorities.”

Here are Alison’s top five tips for running a successful stall:

Try and get your stall in the local paper so people know why you’re there
Site your stall in a prominent place and make it look bright, attractive and non-threatening
Engage people in friendly conversation and listen to their points of view
Give people something to do: a sign-up sheet for those who want to help with the campaign, a petition to sign, or campaigning postcards to fill in
Be there week after week, so people get used to your presence. Often people visit the third or fourth time they see us. But encourage a variety of people to work on the stall so it isn’t always the same old faces

Remember what it’s all about

“If you want to become a campaigner for whatever cause, you have to be passionate. The desire to create a better world – for peace and justice – is crucial,” Alison says.

Many hands make light work

Alison’s advice is to get as many people involved in your campaign as possible, as many hands make light work. “If we had the manpower and appropriate resources, rather than just the occasional stall, we could go around people’s houses on a doorstep-to-doorstep basis, gauging public opinion and telling people about the campaign.”

Contact GAME

Tel: 01785 214894
Send an email

Better Transport

GAME's video