Celebrity Campaigning Makes an Impact
by British actress Joanna Lumley has taken campaigning by celebrities to new heights. The 63 year-old-star of series such as the New Avengers, Saphire &Steel and Absolutely Fabulous, has been a thorn in the side of the British government, becoming the central figure in the battle to allow former members of the Gurkha regiment to reside in the UK.
Lumley’s role has not been that of the fading star eager to embrace just any cause to boost a flagging career. A daughter of a of a former Gurkha officer, she is passionate about the the rights of soldiers in that regiment who have been prepared to fight and die for the British Crown.
Her solidarity with the Gurkha veterans has led to her becoming a central figure in the campaign for Justice for the Gurkhas.
The Gurkha Cause
Central to the fight for Gurkha soldiers, who hail from the Himalayan country of Nepal, is the right for those who served in the regiment before 1997 to settle in the United Kingdom.
Those having served1997 had already been given the right to live in the UK, leaving Gurkha campaigners bemused and angry as to why those had served in the famous regiment before the cut off date were not being given the same privilege.
While the public may be becoming increasingly cynical with celebrities and stars embracing their pet causes, the Lumley effect was the complete opposite. Her involvement united the British public behind the Gurkhas.
Lumley Takes on the Politicians
Through her sheer strength of personality was well as her fame, Lumley has been adept at using and manipulating politicians in support of Gurkha cause. After a motion by the Liberal Democrats demanding the right for all former Gurkha soldiers to reside in Britain was passed, she appeared outside the British House of Commons with LibDem leader Nick Clegg and Conservative Leader of the of the Opposition David Cameron in front of a media scrum .
Lumley showed her instinctive penchant for theatre came just one week later when Lumley crossed paths with government immigration minister Phil Woolas at the BBC. What followed was an impromptu press conference in front of the TV cameras with a seemingly sympathetic government minister trying desperately not to have words put in his mouth by the famous actress.
Should Lumley ever follow the lead fellow actor Glenda Jackson and make the move into politics, she will certainly be a force to be reckoned with.
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