How can I work with my MP? | The INQUEST Skills and Support Toolkit

I support INQUEST's commitment to promote change and fight for improvements to policy and practice, to safeguard the most vulnerable in our society. – Lord Patel of Bradford

All MPs can be contacted by e-mail, letter or phone or at a surgery at their constituency office (see below – Contacting your MP). Your MP should respond to your requests, and listen to your concerns.

Most MPs (not all of course) respond positively to specific requests: it saves them having to work out the best way forward, and it makes you look like you mean business and won’t waste their time.

Things an MP can do in parliament include:

Writing to the relevant department or official, or the appropriate minister to either raise your case or request an appointment to discuss your concerns. Meeting the minister may be useful, perhaps in combination with other MPs affected by the same problem. Additionally, the MP can help organise a delegation of other families to meet the minister concerned.

Parliamentary questions allow you to make your concern public by raising it in the House of Commons, where it will be officially recorded, and could potentially come to the attention of the press and public. Your MP can ask a particular question for you (Oral or Written) on a specific issue. There’s a technical format for parliamentary questions (called PQs for short) as they can’t include things such as personal opinions and they can’t be argumentative. They must also relate to the department of the minister who you are asking the question of, but this level of detail can usually be dealt with by the MP or your advisers so don’t worry too much about that.

Oral questions are drawn in a ballot — meaning you may wait months before your MP gets lucky, so you can also ask them to ask a written question. Written questions can be submitted as long as parliament is in session and they will be answered.

Adjournment debates: These are on a ballot system but if the case is deserving enough, and the MP has come on board, they can put into the ballot for one of these. There are 2 types: 30 minute debates or 90 minute debates and mostly they’re held in Westminster Hall and the public can attend.

Correspondence directly from an MP to the minister (even if it is a letter from you to your MP) is best, and will guarantee a reply signed (and therefore seen) by the minister.

Outside of Parliament your MP might:

Speak, promise and write

Speak at an event concerning your campaign or cause, promise their support to a campaign or write to the local media on your behalf

All of the above steps can often go a long way to getting some action.

Other ways of getting your message across

You may have to be creative and determined to get your local MP on board with your concerns or campaign. It may also be the case that your MP needs to take the matter further to get things moving.

Good information – Send any new reports or findings to the attention of your MP. Send copies of research papers, questioning him/her closely to ensure he/she has read the reports and meeting up with him/her to put the case are useful ways to keep your MP informed and up to date with what’s happening. MPs love A4 sized briefings and they’re easy to carry and read when rushing!

Get others involved – bring other people on board by asking them to sign an open letter to your MP, by signing petitions, leaflets etc. If your MP is not supportive, you can approach other members of his / her party, local councillors, and the local media to outline their lack of support.