How can academics engage with UK Parliamentarians?

1. www.parliament.uk/get-involved
Engaging with UK
Parliamentarians
Kate Anderson
Universities Programme andersonk@parliament.uk
@KateAHoP

2. www.parliament.uk/get-involved
Where to start? Your MP
Your MP’s contact details will be on the
Parliament website: www.parliament.uk
You can call the House of Commons Information
Office on 020 7219 4272
Or at your town hall or local library
Many MPs will have a contact address and
number in the constituency

3. www.parliament.uk/get-involved
Where to start? Peers
Members of the House of Lords do not have
constituencies, so in theory, you can contact any member
Identify Peers who will support your campaign
Biographies of all Peers are available at
www.parliament.uk
You can email Peers at contactholmember@parliament.uk
Do not send bulk mail shots. If more than six copies of
the same email are received, all will be deleted.

4. www.parliament.uk/get-involved
Finding interested MPs and Peers
• All-Party Parliamentary Groups
• Hansard
• Early Day Motions
• Select Committees

5. www.parliament.uk/get-involved
All-party parliamentary groups
• All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups set up
by backbench MPs and Peers from different parties.
• APPGs focus on either a country or subject.
• Some groups involve individuals and organisations from
outside Parliament to help with administration, research
and other activities.
• The Register of All-Party Groups shows who their senior
members are and what support groups receive from
outside Parliament.

6. www.parliament.uk/get-involved
Contacting MPs and Peers
How does your issue affect an MP’s constituents?
How does it relate to a Peer’s expertise
and experience?
Does it relate to something that they are
already working on?
Does the concern need to be addressed now
because decisions on funding or policy
are imminent?

7. www.parliament.uk/get-involved
Contacting MPs and Peers
• What’s the problem?
• Why do you care?
• Why should they care?
• What do you want them to do about it?

8. www.parliament.uk/get-involved
House of Commons Library Blog:
http://commonslibraryblog.com/
Twitter: @commonslibrary
Read the research prepared for
Peers and MPs
The Libraries of
the UK Parliament and
POST

9. www.parliament.uk/get-involved
Get involved
 Contact your MP or a member of the House of Lords
 Sign up for email updates or follow relevant Select
Committees on Twitter
 Share your expertise with a Select Committee or APPG
 Access parliamentary briefings and topical research
Find out more at www.parliament.uk/get-involved or
call the House of Commons Enquiry service on 0800 112 4272 or the House of Lords
Enquiry Service on 020 7219 3107
andersonk@parliament.uk
@KateAHoP