How to write to your MP so that you get a reply

Write only to your own MP

An MP is answerable to the people in their constituency and nobody else. If you write to a member who does not represent your address, the office is entitled to bin it, and most do. Give your full postal address in the letter — it is how the caseworker proves you are a constituent.

There is one exception in the UK. Members of the House of Lords have no constituency, so any resident may write to a peer.

Say what you want in the first sentence

Caseworkers triage dozens of emails a day. Lead with the ask: sign this amendment, vote against this clause, chase this department, meet this group. Then give your reasons.

• One issue per letter. Two issues get one answer, usually the easier one.
• Under 400 words. Long letters get skim-read.
• Name the bill, benefit, hospital or street. Specifics can be checked and therefore acted on.
• Ask a direct question. A question demands an answer; a statement invites a thank-you note.

Never send a template

Offices weigh a thousand identical emails as roughly one letter, because a hundred identical letters prove only that a campaign has a mailing list. A message in your own voice about your own street cannot be discounted that way.

If a campaign has given you wording, use their facts and throw away their sentences. Two paragraphs of your own experience outperform two pages of somebody else's prose.

What happens next

Expect an acknowledgement within a few days and a substantive reply in two to four weeks. Where the issue belongs to a government department, your MP will usually write to the relevant minister and forward the answer, which adds a month or so.

If nothing arrives after six weeks, write again and reference your first letter's date. Persistence is normal and expected, not rude.

If your MP is not the right person

MPs handle reserved matters and anything involving a UK government department. Bins, planning, schools admissions and social care usually belong to your council. Health and education in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland belong to the devolved legislatures. Sending it to the wrong tier costs you a month.