It describes itself as "progressive" and claims to "campaign for fairness, defend rights, promote peace, preserve the planet and deepen democracy in the UK".
38 Degrees was founded in memory of Anita Roddick, a lifetime champion of the power of ordinary people to make a difference.
[4] The organisation launched during the United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal, and this formed the backdrop to early campaigns demanding voters were given more powers to sack MPs.
[8][9] In December 2011 Babbs was named by the Independent Newspaper as one of their "Great Britons" for his role in halting a government plan to sell off public forests.
[12][13][14] In 2020, 38 Degrees announced that an independent report commissioned after the dismisal found proven certain allegations that Babbs had behaved with "unacceptable and unprofessional conduct in the workplace".
It aims to empower British citizens by providing easy ways for them to take action on the issues they care about, e.g., climate change, human rights and poverty.
[18] Each week 50,000 members, chosen at random, are asked to vote for their top priorities; only ones where there is a strong consensus will be pushed forward.
For example, a poll in September 2014 found that members were evenly split on whether to support or oppose military action targeting ISIS in Iraq.