How to write ... to your MP
A guide for myself as much as anyone else
Earlier this week, I emailed my MP asking again for a ceasefire in Gaza. Or, rather, asking them to ask the UK government to ask; this way of speaking out can seem too many steps removed. However, it is one of the most direct routes we have here to effect change.
Although ‘email your MP’ is, on the one hand, super simple. To me, it often feels intimidating, awkward and frustrating. So I created a guide to walk myself through it:
Find your MP by searching their name, your town/city, or your postcode in the online parliament directory: members.parliament.uk/members/Commons
I noticed a line on the parliament.uk site that says ‘the majority of MPs now have email addresses that you can write to’. Erm … what? In a public service role where communicating with constituents is vital, putting up the big barrier of ‘no email’ seems an entitled, outdated, dinosaur power move. Actually, I retract that specific comparison, as after I wrote this intro, I clicked on Friday’s cute Google-doodle which was ‘celebrating the Staurikosaurus’, and I reckon that even Staurikosaurus, one of the earliest dinosaurs to roam the earth, would have embraced email if they could.
Anyway, assuming your MP does have an email address, it will likely be in the format firstname.lastname.mp@parliament.uk – I'm not certain it's the same for everyone, and some have a couple of different addresses (or, as mentioned above, none), so it's still best to find their record in the directory. This also means that you can …
Bookmark your MP’s directory page in your browser, meaning you can find their details more quickly next time and keep an eye on their voting record (see image at the end of this post for the side menu of a directory page). Also: follow your MP’s social links so you can see if they’re speaking out on social media about the issues you care most about (and urge them to do so if they’re not).
Use your MP’s preferred title / form of address. This will be shown along with their contact info on that same page. Mostly, you’re safe writing Dear Firstname Lastname,1 but some MPs do use their titles (especially the Sirs, Doctors and Misters). I noticed I missed the ‘Dr’ part when I emailed my local MP, who’s a vet. Oops. Not sure what happens – maybe they snooze your email for a day or cross you off their next leaflet drop.
Write your full name and full postal address in the email. I recommend doing this first so that you don’t forget the postal address part (which I think is so that your MP knows that you are one of their constituents). Not sure about what to do if you vote here but don’t live here – please leave a comment if you know how it works in that scenario.
Compose your message. Often you can find a good template to use if it’s an issue plenty of other people are talking about but, in my experience, template emails seem to annoy MPs and you may get a terse reply back (there’s no need for this: if lots of people are saying the exact same thing, that is a reason to listen). However, it’s still a good idea to tailor the message and say why the issue is important to you, not least because it actually prompts some helpful self-reflection about why it does matter. Cover these points:
What are you contacting your MP about? Put this in the subject line and the first line of your message.
Why are you emailing about this?
What do you want your MP to do about it?
Say thank you.
Send it. This is pretty key of course! Press send, even if it feels uncomfortable or you’re unsure of whether you’ve got the perfect wording. It is fine. You’re a person emailing another person. You could also use the ‘schedule send’ option if that makes it feel easier – it somehow lessens that ‘big red button’ feeling.
Keep the issue in mind. Look out for the reply (follow up if you don’t hear back within a fortnight).
p.s. If you'd prefer to put actual pen to actual paper or don’t have the option to email, or your MP is one of those who supposedly has no email address, you can send a letter. All MPs have the same official postal address: House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. Remember to use the correct postage stamp. NB, although you may feel strongly enough to want to march up to the front door of the House of Commons, your letter won't be accepted if you try to deliver it by hand (I don’t know why, but it won’t).
p.p.s. If you’re not sure what you can email your MP about, check on: parliament.uk/get-involved/contact-an-mp-or-lord/who-should-i-contact – for some local issues, it may be better to contact your council or Citizens Advice (an organisation that I often see mentioned in editing style guides because: no apostrophe).
Due to past experience, I feel compelled here to point out that ‘Firstname Lastname’ is a placeholder to be swapped out for the actual names. In a previous job, I saw a whole batch of letters get sent out as ‘Dear X’ (for which I take full responsibility for my instructions being followed exactly/literally).
Helpful intel from my friend Rob who has messaged me to say: ‘I just wrote to all the MPs in a series of mail merges. All do have email but a few are using non parliamentary email addresses still as they sort out their back office staff etc.’ Thank you, Rob! 🙌🏻 (comment shared with permission)