How to communicate with your member of parliament

Communicating with members of parliament is quite easy, as you can write to them or meet them face to face. MPs receive many letters at the House of Commons and make an effort to answer them all. They also hold special surgeries in their constituencies, which you can visit.

Writing to your MP

Letters Your MP can be contacted by writing to him/her at the House of Commons. The address is (your member's name) House of Commons, Westminster, SW10AA. If your MP is a government minister, you can contact him/her by writing to the government department in which they work. The MP might write back themselves, or they might have their secretary write for them. This is because they are very busy. If your MP is a minister, it is likely that their parliamentary private secretary will write for them. The prime minister has several officials who write letters. MSPs are members of the Scottish parliament. You write to them at the parliament in Edinburgh. The members of the Welsh assembly can be contacted at Cardiff. What to write about MPs receive letters expressing writer's opinions on political matters. You might write to them on an issue of national policy, to seek their support for a local cause relevant to their constituency, or to seek support for a charity or wider cause that is important to you. You might, of course, write to your MEP on European matters. As MEPs are often on the move, it is often a good idea to write to them via their euro-constituency office. In general, do not write long letters. Keep them, brief and to the point. Always be polite, as impolite letters are simply binned.

Surgeries

Most members of the various parliaments in the UK have constituency surgeries. These are held at weekends in local libraries, party offices and so on to enable people to meet their representatives. You should go to these if you want a face to face discussion on a personal matter. Do not use them for talking about your views on party policy. Surgeries are most effective when getting members of parliament to act on a problem. For example, you might be having difficulties with a public body, such as the NHS, who might be proving difficult to deal with. The fact that an MP is on the case often makes truculent officials more careful about how they treat people. Sometimes, you can telephone your member's office, but it is unlikely that they will answer the phone, as it will be a local official who does so.