Politicians have the power to champion the issues that matter most to their constituents, they are easy to contact and it is a very effective way for your voice to be heard especially in relation to debates and votes. Please keep in mind that they cannot help with issues like missed bin collections but can influence things like new laws, national policies and strategic change.
Step 1: Find your MP and their contact details
You can use this handy website to find out the name, email address and postal address of your MP.
MPs can only deal with matters for their constituents, if you are contacting them as a government minister this should be done through their government department rather than their parliamentary office. A list of government departments can be found here, the contact details for the departments are at the base of each page.
Step 2: Include the right information
Make sure you include:
Your full name
Your full address and postcode
Your contact phone number
Your constituency
Step 3: Be clear and concise
Ideally you should keep your correspondence to a few paragraphs and ensure you are clear and concise but put the issues in personal terms.
Make sure you include:
The issue at hand
The key reasons it is important
Any experiences you have that inform this
The steps you would like them to take
If you would like a response or update state this clearly
A reasonable timeframe to be updated