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This link will help you find your MP and their email address or postal address, provided you know their name or the name of the constituency in which you live. You should only write to your own MP. Many MPs have their own websites with online forms that ask you for your details – they are quite easy to use. If you simply email your MP then you should include your name and address to confirm that you are a constituent of theirs.
You should get an acknowledgement of your email pretty quickly – it may simply be an automated response at this stage – that’s fine.
I would be very grateful if you would let me know that you have contacted your MP by emailing me at [email protected] with your name, the name of your MP, the name of your constituency. When you get a substantial reply from your MP I would be grateful if you would let me know. If you use the template below then I would be grateful if you would let me know whether your MP says he/she will try to attend any debate, whether she/he intends to speak, and any indication of the line they might take.
The more emails that are sent the better. Please don’t assume that someone else will do it so you don’t have to – they may be thinking the same. Please do let me know that you have done this – I will be keen to help you with any ensuing correspondence on this subject – you aren’t alone in this. If you have never emailed or written to your MP before – don’t be afraid, they are all too human.
Dear [name of your MP]
I am a constituent of yours and I signed the e-petition on the parliament website entitled Ban Driven Grouse Shooting https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/125003. That e-petition has passed 100,000 signatures and therefore is expected to receive a debate in Westminster Hall some time later than 9 October. In our constituency of [name of constituency] XXX people have supported this petition. [You can look up the number by using this link http://petitionmap.unboxedconsulting.com/?petition=125003].
I hope that when the date of the debate is determined you will be able to attend the debate – would it be your intention to do so?
I hope that when the debate occurs you might feel able to represent my views in that debate. I want to see driven grouse shooting banned/stronger regulation of driven grouse shooting/changes in the way our hills are managed [select one of these or use your own words]. Do you think you would be able to speak on that subject?
I would be grateful for your response and the opportunity to brief you on the subject if you are planning to attend the debate.
Yours sincerely
Your name
and address if you haven’t already given it.
[registration_form]
Ah, yawn….updates can wait until morning time; i’ve not been monitoring but it’s looks like there have been fun and games at least twice this eve. The petition surges, Duncan Thomas is on standby to cry foul, the House of Commons Petitions team yawns, resolves the problem, we carry on……………Parliamentary debate……….time passes………….driven grouse shooting gets banned………Duncan Thomas never reflects on his role in making it happen.
Well, I’ve got to say I’m impressed, it’s not just me that is up….the Petition Team adjusted the total at some time around 3.30am, good effort!
I’ll endeavour to work out yesterday’s total during the course of today, but at 03.54 the total is 112,456, so presumably somewhere around 1700-1800 signatures in the 24 hours. The rate is a steady 7 signatures an hour as I write.
Thanks for the template — email sent.
I’m wondering what would happen if I wrote to my MP. He’s Matt Ridley’s brother-in-law.
SteB1 – I’m wondering too. Why not do it and find out 😉 ?
It would be very useful to know which MPs intend to attend in planning briefings etc.
Do it. All of them should be open to influence. Get your mates to do it, too.
Done it. Penned my own before your template appeared. Text below (partly in response to a letter he had written to me about the buzzard licence):
”Thank you for your considered response about the licence issued by Natural England to kill buzzards. You have kindly agreed to meet me at your surgery on Langport in November when I hope to discuss this matter in detail with you.
I am writing today on a different but related subject. A petition to Parliament calling for the banning of driven grouse shooting has just exceeded the 100,000 mark (https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/125003) and therefore will be considered for a debate by Parliament. I trust that you will consider this carefully and that you will support a proposal for a debate. Driven Grouse Shooting needs public scrutiny and Parliament is in an ideal position.
For the avoidance of any doubt, I have no links to any political party. I am a member of the RSPB and the wildlife trusts, and have a keen interest in wildlife.
As I am sure you are aware, many people are deeply concerned about the effect that driven grouse shooting has on the environment and wildlife. It is an unsustainable activity. The following links to a useful fact sheet about the decline in hen harrier numbers which is a direct result of driven grouse shooting: https://issuu.com/bawc/docs/hhfacts2016leaflet/1
Here’s hoping you do the right thing.
Yours sincerely and with thanks for your interest.”
My MP is Mark Warburton (Con), Somerton and Frome
Thanks for the nudge. I’ve emailed Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (SNP), MP for Ochil & South Perthshire. I’ll email you when I get a reply. She’s usually reasonably responsive, once I get past the standard Scottish MP knee-jerk of ‘environmental issues are devolved to the Scottish government’.
Letter sent this morning. My MP seems to be a bit disdainful of emails and invariably sends an auto-response setting out what you have to do in order to earn a detailed response.
My excellent MP Gisela Stuart (Labour Edgbaston) was contacted by me only yesterday and this morning has replied saying she will raise it. I tried to emphasise that we in the cities are equally concerned about what’s going on and that it would be important for ‘our’ views to be raised in the debate.
Hi Mark,
Have emailed Rosie Cooper (West Lancs)
Cheers,
Phil
Well done Mark. I have emailed Norman Lamb (Lib – North Norfolk) who I am also in contact with re the Buzzard Licences. I asked him to let me know of any MP’s who might support us. I am sure you will be on that case, but I think it really important that we have some big guns on our side – if there are any!
I have signed the petition and written to my MP Cheryl Gillan
Clare Blackburn
Clare – thank you!