Making the case: talking to MPs

To begin with, it’s good to do some research and find out what your local MP is interested in.

All MPs are interested in their constituency and the constituents who live there. As a local cultural organisation this is important to remember and a useful reason to be in touch. However, all MPs represent people on the national stage and so will have other policy interests as well.

Browse through their social media and their website to see what they have been mentioning here. Have they been concerned about local children’s access to learning to play an instrument?

Look through Hansard. Hansard is the official report of all Parliamentary debates and you can look up your MP to see their activity in Parliament. You can see which topics they’ve spoken about and you can search for key words to find their speeches eg Theatre, Arts, Creativity.

Once you have done this, have a think about your work and how it might relate to their interests and their concerns. For example, your MP might be particularly interested in children’s education. Do you work with children? Perhaps your organisation has a strong track record of helping children access creative activities to develop their learning?

It’s also good to think about any data you have that reinforces your story. Do you have survey responses that show how much local people value a visit to your gallery? Are ticket sales to your performance particularly strong with 18-25 year olds? It all helps to give data to back up your story.

Once you have your story, evidence to back it up, and know your MP will be interested, it’s time to contact them.

You have your story. You know your local MP would be interested. But how do you reach them?

MPs have two offices, one in their constituency and one in Westminster. They spend Monday to Thursday in Westminster and Friday in the constituency. Unless it’s parliamentary recess in which case, they spend the entire time in the constituency. Take a look at recess dates >

They’re best reached by email or a phone call to the appropriate office (in your case it’s their constituency office) but you can send post to them too. If you do send something in the post, try to be creative with what you send. MPs receive a lot of plain letters on a range of issues. Think about something that stands out.

You can find out who your MP is and what their contact details are on the UK Parliament website.

When you contact your MP make sure to include a specific actionable ask for your MP to do, like attending your event, writing to the Minister about an issue your organisation is facing or, share your workshop with local schools.

Below are some examples of how you can advocate for your organisation to your MP.

• Invite them to an event - Invite your MP to come and see a performance or give them a behind the scenes tour of your work. Have a coffee with them or, if you are an organisation, ask your director, a cast member or trustee to meet them before/after an event. Aim to invite them 2 months in advance with a reminder one or two weeks ahead of the event taking place.

• Introduce your work - You can use your MP’s local constituency surgery to meet them, introduce your work and let them know what support you need.

• Keep in touch - Put your MP on your mailing list so they never miss an update.

• Everybody loves a freebie - Send your MP a piece of merchandise to get noticed. They’ll likely be proud to be seen championing their local constituency with the pen of a local theatre or mug from a gallery. 

• Social media - Engaging with your MP through social media is another great way you can draw their attention to the valuable work your organisation is doing. Include their Twitter handle when you’re tweeting good news stories and updates, or ask your MP’s office if they’ll retweet your content. 

• Use your crowd - You can encourage people who have benefited from your work to write to their MP and tell them about the impact your work has had on their life.