Protesters who took part in Saturday’s Women’s March in London are being urged to bombard Theresa May with letters and emails about her meeting with Donald Trump on Friday.

Organisers say it is the first small step in creating a global grassroots movement to address the widespread inequalities and economic divisions that helped power Trump to the White House and drive Britain out of the European Union.

They say they want to ensure that May does not “waiver” when it comes to re-asserting the UK’s commitment to equal rights when she meets the new president.

A variety of templates for postcards and emails which people can send to the prime minister have been posted on their website, with people asked to tell her why they are concerned. The postcard template reads: “Dear Theresa May, as a proud supporter of the #women’sMarchLondon movement I am concerned about the UK’s commitment to human rights. Here’s why:...

“I trust you will consider my concerns, and expect you to reaffirm the UK’s commitment to human rights when you meet with Donald Trump on Friday.”

The front of the template postcard designed to be sent to Theresa May. Photograph: WML

Initially organised as a Washington protest against Trump’s denigration of women and his threats to reproductive rights, the marches have appeared to be a catalyst for a wider worldwide unease about future human rights for men and women.



With an estimated 5m men and women marching in more than 600 cities, organisers across the world are now challenged with finding a way of translating that into a sustained movement that can mobilise a broad spectrum of people in a way that other movements such as Occupy Wall Street did not.

On Saturday, David Axelrod, Barack Obama’s former chief campaign strategist, warned in a tweet: “This outpouring today is extraordinary and inspiring. But if all this energy isn’t channeled into sustained pol action, it will mean little.”

This outpouring today is extraordinary and inspiring. But if all this energy isn't channeled into sustained pol action, it will mean little. — David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) January 21, 2017

Micah White, the founder of Occupy, also warned that taking to the streets is not a lever of power. “Without a clear path from march to power, the protest is destined to be an ineffective feelgood spectacle adorned with pink pussy hats,” he wrote in the Guardian.

“It is all too easy to succumb to the false hope that a big splash is a transformative tsunami. Don’t be fooled. It is not. I’ve been there, as the co-creator of a raucous pro-democracy meme that inspired months of Occupy protests in 82 countries.

“I can tell you that raising awareness and getting media attention is never enough. Frankly, neither brings the people closer to sovereign power,” he said.

“In a sense, the legacy of the march is more important than the march itself,” said Wanda Wyporska from the Equality Trust, one of the organisations which supported the march in London.

Buoyed by the estimated 100,000 turnout, the half dozen women behind the march are now trying to capture that energy and use it to fuel a popular movement.

They are part of a Women’s March global initiative and the Theresa May letter-writing campaign mirrors the “10 actions over 100 days” campaign launched by the organisers in the US ,who are ostensibly already more galvanised. More suggestions for action will follow in the coming weeks and months.

In an energetic speech on Saturday, filmmaker and activist Michael Moore urged protesters to bombard Congress with daily phone calls. He also called on people to forms “regions of resistance” and to form small rapid-response groups who could protest physically or on social media when needed.

Kerry Haggerty, one of the organisers of the UK marches, said: “This had global roots and we are hoping now to get it down to grassroots level and hoping it will be a massive mobilisation. We are hoping to learn the lessons from Occupy and are looking for all the help we can get.”

Fellow organiser Emma McNally, who studied political philosophy, said organisers had set out to try to be party politically neutral and not about individual causes or people, Trump included.

“I am very interested in systems theory and network dynamics. What we are trying to do is build a horizontal structure. Centralised structure with power trickling down doesn’t work so we were scrupulous not to present this as an individual cause or to target an individual like Trump.

Michael Moore speaks at the Women’s March in Washington.

“We also chose not to have a manifesto. For example, if we had made this about reproductive rights or a single issue, we would have absolutely curtailed its potential as a much broader movement.”

That the vast majority of placards, bearing a multitude of slogans ranging from “This pussy grabs back” to messages about LGBT rights, were homemade was testimony to their policy that the march should not be hijacked by a single organisation. Going forward, “this is about division and inequality,” said McNally.

She said there was no point in making it an anti-Trump or anti-Brexit movement as these “triggers would generate a predictable response”. Instead, she said, it was important “to crate response to the conditions that allowed that division to come about” and ensure that all voices can be part of the movement.

There was also a feeling among organisers that charities advocating for minorities and human rights had to do so behind their “big brands” but that connecting them on one platform, in real life and in social media, could coalesce into a powerful movement to effect change.