To wonder if anyone has had support from their MP?

[Mumofsend]

I am debating writing to my MP for the first time for a significant issue im having. Aibu to wonder if anything can come from doing so or is it just a token-istic exercise?

Any tips?

I had a good response from a local Councillor who i contacted instead of the mp. They followed up a few times over subsequent weeks as well to check in as it involved a welfare issue.

Browsed the available councillors and chose the one I thought would be most likely to help based on available info.

Good luck!

I and my parents' neighbours have contacted our MP. Some teenagers had taken to loitering about outside my mum and dads' houses, kicking footballs against hedges and windows and their next door neighbour got onto the local MP. Off the back of that the PSNI agreed to do some regular patrols over the course of a few weeks to get them to move on.

In my case I was enquiring about NHS dental provision during COVID and my MP took it up with the Health Minister to get clarification.

As much as it pains me to say it these were both DUP, but I hear SF are very proactive with responding to constituents' concerns as well.

Definitely worth an email OP.

We had support and sent a very factual letter with supporting evidence. They changed a significant local policy due to our letter.

Our was a prominent Tory MP

You won't make anything worse.
Local authorities do take MP intervention seriously, there will be protocols for how long it will take for a reply and suchlike. But it won't necessarily change the outcome but you may get a quicker reply.

I've lived in two completely different areas, and have asked for help from MPs in both. On each occasion they have been extremely helpful, on one occasion I was fighting the DWP for my benefits - I'm disabled, things had gone on for months and months and reached the point of a tribunal. There was a delay in the MP getting my letter, but when he got it, he called the same day at 4pm and was actually standing at my bedside by 5.00pm, at 6.30pm he put a letter that he'd written and had typed up about my case, through my door so that I could take it with me to the tribunal the next day! Now that's what I call supportive, and I hadn't even voted for him! So personally, I'd highly recommend asking your MP for support.

My local MP is useless - she replies to letters with irrelevant statements about government policy and how wonderful the government is.

However I once emailed her and this was picked up by a constituency worker in her office - he was lovely and super helpful - the paperwork for my son's urgent operation had got lost and the hospital was blaming the CCG, the CCG wouldn't talk to me as they don't talk to members of the public. It took him a couple of phone calls and all sorted and I was offered a choice of dates!

Mine is a new Tory and whilst I'd never vote for him, he has at least done what he's paid for. He has helped push Openreach over improving our completely shit broadband (but it's still not soon enough for me). We all (me, DH & 2 DDs) emailed separately over the Dominic Cummings affair and he replied to each. He had the good sense to personalise each opening paragraph and said that he personally would have resigned over it, so we were prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.

I contacted my father's MP last month over the Covid vaccine with his GP surgery acting like twats. This is a much higher profile Tory and again, he was really helpful. He does know my father, but as I have a different surname, there was no way until further down the exchange of emails that he would know that.

In the OP's shoes, what harm can it do?

It's worth a try but depends so much on who it is.

Sadly mine is dreadful (and very high profile unfortunately) - he won't even use email. I got a letter back with platitudes several weeks later and he didn't bother with a follow up.

My sister's MS is lovely and really made a difference.

Luck of the draw

It doesn't matter if the MP is 'busy' or not (someone gave the example of Keir Starmer) MPs employ caseworkers who deal with these things, they don't do the leg work themselves.

Caseworkers are often really well trained, well informed and have built up good contacts so they know who to get hold of and the right questions to ask.

It's always worth trying your MP.

They don't write the replies. If you are lucky somebody from their office will spot it in the huge pile they get every day but most of the letters get passed on to whichever government dept owns that policy and dealt with by a civil servant (who would probably rather be working on that policy than on responding to yet another letter)

@Mumofsend

My MP is historically a bit of a tory dinosaur in a tory safe seat. We shall see!

You may have good luck with a Tory dinosaur - some of the ‘old guard’ take constituency work very seriously.

If it’s as complex as it sounds you might be better phoning and asking for an appointment- presumably this will be over zoom rather than in person but you will be able to explain the issue and ask for help.

I did and she resolved the issue after me trying for ages. Really helpful. She fast tracked everything and got it dealt with.

Mine was dealt with on behalf of her secretary who was totally on the ball.

Yes I have had a lot of support from my
local MP for housing issues.

@UrAWizHarry

Depends on the issue and - to a very large extent - who your MP is.

My MP is a useless cunt who is solely concerned with getting as far up Boris's arse as possible and ignores any and all correspondence from his constituents. Others are bgtter.

We've got the same MP then

My local MP has been incredibly helpful on SEN issues so I do think it is worth writing. As a PP said, they have caseworkers employed to do this stuff who can have really good contacts. And sometimes just a letter from an MP can get some action.

I would say that you have nothing to lose and can help get things moving a little quicker.

I had to contact an elderly relative’s MP about an issue that they had with an organisation and things that had been dragging on for some time suddenly got resolved. They are in a very safe seat but had phoned me the day after I had contacted them to discuss the issue.

I have, it really depends on the issue.

I used to be a caseworker for an MP. There should be a team based in either the constituency office or Westminster who will deal with correspondence and put it physically in front of the MP (maybe more virtually these days - we had more letters than emails then). We used to order the post in priority and an individual case like you mention would have been at the top.

We had a huge amount of success (failures too of course) but it was amazing how a letter saying we would be interested in an update about x could get an organisation moving. Definitely raise it.

@UrAWizHarry You’re not in the NE by any chance? You could definitely be describing my local MP. He’s never responded to any of my correspondence and blocks anyone on social media who doesn’t agree with him.

Mine is useless. I write to him about once a year and get a standard response every time. I got an actual letter on nice paper when I wrote about special needs but it was candyfloss.
I wrote to him in early December to ask about how to reconcile my shielding advice from the government with government advice that 5 days of mixing was fine. I asked for reassurance that he would raise the issue of fines if I kept my DC at home until local cases reduced.. I stressed that both my DC had 100% attendance in the autumn term.
I got a message back that school attendance was important and the reasons why. He totally ignored shielding or fines.

^ editing went badly

I haven't heard from MP or social care yet at all. Definitely getting antsy!