How to contact your MP, MS, MLA or MSP
Contacting your MP
There is a member of parliament, or MP, for every area in the UK. Each area is called a ‘constituency.’ You can contact your MP by email, post of phone.
In Scotland
You will also have an MSP – Member of Scottish Parliament. There are 59 MPs in Scotland, and 129 MSPs. They are elected in separate elections.
In Wales
you will also have an MS - Member of the Senedd. There are 32 MPs in Wales, and 60 MSs.
In Northern Ireland
You will also have an MLA - Member of the Legislative Assembly. There are 18 MPs in Northern Ireland, and 90 MLAs. At the time of writing, the Assembly is not sitting.
Finding your MP and their contact details
Find out who your MP is with this online tool. Click the link here. Put your postcode in the first box, and click the blue button, ‘search.’
The result will be your MP’s name. Click on that and you will find their email address and their contact address for letters. It will also tell you what to call them.
They could have two contact addresses for letters. One is their ‘parliamentary’ address, which means the address in London. The other will be their ‘constituency’ address, which is their address in your local area. This might be an office or their home address. You can write to either address.
This advice is the same for emails and for letters. First, make sure you put your home address. This is so that they know you live in their area.
What to say to them
Tell them who you are and why nature is important to you. You can make this very personal but keep it short. Try to write three or four sentences.
In the next paragraph, you must tell them what you want them to do. Some ideas are:
- You want them to support stronger laws
- You want them to support a local cause
- You want them to stand against something that is happening locally, for example, a road through a nature reserve
- You want them to give you advice about a problem
- You want them to come to an event.
Speaking to your MP in person
To speak directly to your MP, you can arrange a meeting. All MPs hold regular ‘surgeries’ which is when they are in your area and can speak to people. You will need to write a letter or email their office to find out when they will be free. Or you can telephone their office and speak to someone who works there.
When you ask for a meeting, explain what you want to talk about.
You can take some notes with you if you are worried about forgetting what you want to say. Don’t worry if you’re not an expert. Be passionate about your cause. And don’t forget to take a photo and put it on social media! It can encourage other people to get involved and support you.
Have you been part of a community nature project?
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