Launch of the "MAKE POVERTY HISTORY" campaign in House of Commons

12.00.00am GMT Wed 10th Nov 2004

Members of Parliament and well known celebrities yesterday joined forces at the parliamentary launch of the MAKE POVERTY HISTORY campaign in the House of Commons.

Over 80 of the country's most influential international development organisations have assembled a powerful coalition to fight against world poverty to ensure that 2005 becomes a year when the face of global poverty is changed forever. More and more organisations are joining every week.

Leading celebrities attended the launch to promote the campaign

Leading celebrities including Lenny Henry, Dawn French, Davina McCall, Richard Curtis, Kirsty Young and supermodel Claudia Schiffer, attended the launch to promote the campaign which seeks to bring about changes in three key areas - TRADE, DEBT and AID. Across the globe, there is a growing agreement and understanding that it is changes in these three crucial policy areas together which will make an unprecedented different to the state of world poverty.

Why 2005? The MAKE POVERTY HISTORY campaign will run throughout 2005 and will capitalise on the unprecedented series of events taking place throughout the year which can put global poverty at the heart of the political agenda.

Next year the United Kingdom is hosting the G8 summit, will hold the Presidency of the European Union and will report on the Prime Minister's 'Commission for Africa'. In addition, 2005 marks the 10th anniversary of Comic Relief, the 20th anniversary of Live Aid and the Millennium Development Goals 5 year summit - taken together, these events represent a unique and powerful opportunity to make next year truly historic.

Local MP Annette Brooke, who as Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Microfinance, fully supports the MAKE POVERTY HISTORY campaign has already written to the Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn MP, and to Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to emphasise the importance of 2005, the ambitious goals of the campaign and to remind them of their unique responsibility in influencing the outcomes. In addition, she has signed the Early Day Motion supporting the campaign, to be tabled after the Queen's Speech.