Ron Bailey, a British campaigner who estimates he has contributed to 16 bills becoming law and a further 25 law changes over roughly four decades, has published a book, Institutionalised Deceit: Taking the Lid off Westminster Governance, detailing his methods and philosophy.
Ron Bailey, lobbyist behind 16 acts of Parliament, publishes memoir of four decades of campaigning
Ron Bailey, a British campaigner who estimates he has contributed to 16 bills becoming law and a further 25 law changes over roughly four decades, has published a book, Institutionalised Deceit: Taking the Lid off Westminster Governance, detailing his methods and philosophy.
Bailey began his activism in the 1960s through protests against homelessness laws that split up families and through involvement in the squatting movement, which included occupying hostels, moving homeless families into empty houses, and confrontations with bailiffs. He has said he spent long periods in the British Library researching property laws dating to the 14th century to ensure he could counter legal challenges.
He shifted toward legislative campaigning from the early 1980s. In 1983, the Greater London Council Grants Committee awarded one of his projects enough money to rent an office and hire staff. Bailey used that funding to campaign for public access to council meetings — including targeting the council that granted the money — before pushing for the Local Government (Access to Information) Bill, which expanded public access to council meetings and documents. He says the then-Conservative government opposed the bill but relented after a public letter-writing campaign reached MPs.
Over the years Bailey has worked with the Green Party, the Community Rights Project, and the Sustainable Energy Association. He also collaborated with the Association for the Conservation of Energy, a body led by company directors and chief executives. Legislation he credits himself with helping to pass includes the Home Energy Conservation Act, the Private Hire Vehicles Act, and the Road Traffic Reduction Act.
A central tactic Bailey used was targeting private members' bills — a parliamentary process in which MPs whose numbers are drawn by the deputy speaker are allocated time to introduce their own legislation. Bailey said he would immediately approach the drawn MPs and present them with fully drafted bills. That approach brought him into repeated conflict with Conservative MP Eric Forth, who represented Bromley and Chislehurst and regularly used extended debate — known as filibustering — to block such bills. The Friday sessions where private members' bills are debated acquired the nickname 'Eric Forth's killing fields.' To protect one bill, Bailey organised a leaflet campaign reaching all of Forth's approximately 50,000 constituents.
Bailey, now in his 80s, is recovering from his sixth stroke and also contends with insomnia and restless leg syndrome, according to the article.
- The source does not state which specific bills Bailey contributed to beyond the three named examples and the earlier freedom of information legislation.
- The source does not identify the unnamed former Friends of the Earth director.
- The source does not state the publication date or publisher of Institutionalised Deceit: Taking the Lid off Westminster Governance.
- The source does not specify the dates on which the Home Energy Conservation Act, the Private Hire Vehicles Act, or the Road Traffic Reduction Act became law.
- The source does not state the outcome of the Local Government (Access to Information) Bill beyond noting the government relented under public pressure.
- The source does not provide independent verification of Bailey's estimate that he contributed to 16 bills becoming law and 25 further law changes.