UsforThem

Positional statement

What are we campaigning for?

UsforThem are a campaign group campaigning for children to be the primary consideration in decisions impacting them.

Why are we campaigning?

Children and young people are this country’s future. They are the least medically at risk from Covid-19, but they will be the ones saddled with the economic burden, the unemployment and they are the ones whose education and social development is being damaged, in some cases beyond repair. They have no voice in this debate – we are the voice calling for their interests are at the heart of all decisions

Who are we?

We are people from all walks of life who care about children. We are parents, grandparents, teachers, paediatricians, psychologists, lawyers – and many more besides.

Where are we?

We have tens of thousands of members, across all four nations of the UK.

What do we believe?

That children should be the primary consideration in all decisions impacting them.

What is our position on schools?

That any restrictions need to be proportionate to the risks (including the long term non-Covid risks).

That children need to be able to develop in a safe, secure environment, and that certain of the Covid protective measures (in particular, social distancing and face coverings) are potentially harmful to children.

That the case for remote learning as an adequate substitute for face-to-face teaching has not been made.

Our tone of voice.

We engage not enrage – we are proactive, respectful, and constructive.

What do we do?

We campaign to change behaviour, and we collaborate with experts and groups with similar objectives to UsforThem.

How do we do that?

By lobbying MPs, Government ministers and other decision-makers.

Are we political?

We are apolitical; we are open to partnerships with any group which champions the interests of children whether they be from the left, right or apolitical.

Who are our advisors?

Our advisors include paediatricians, academics, psychologists, and lawyers.

Who coordinates our relationships with advisors?

We do.

Have we raised money?

As of 01 January 2021, we’ve run two small public crowdfunding among our supporters to cover campaign costs and ‘keep the lights’ on costs. The total sum raised is c. £15k and we have full records of all expenditure, which we share with key stakeholders.

Do we pay our-selves?

No, we are a team of unpaid volunteers.

Have we taken money from political organisations?

No.

Do we coordinate any negative ‘trolling‘ groups on social media?

Absolutely not, and we consider any such suggestion to be libellous.

What impact have we had?

We have campaigned non-stop for nine months, and we are passionate about protecting and bettering children’s futures. However, the political impact is almost impossible to measure, and we leave it to others to assess what degree of impact we have had.

Are we anti-vax?

No, we do our best to remove all anti-vax content from our plat-forms, but as a small team of volunteers, we don’t always catch everything.

Are we anti-mask?

Yes, for children. We – and more importantly, our team of in-house paediatricians and psychologists – believe that the harms of mask-wearing for children are significant and that this is a disproportionate and potentially very damaging measure for children.

UsForThem positional statement published 04/01/2020.