How to write to your MP in the UK, and what they can actually do

When a department goes quiet for months, an application sits unmoved and complaints disappear into nothing, there is a tool almost nobody uses: writing to your own Member of Parliament. It is free, and an MP has powers you do not.

Who can write to an MP?

Someone who lives in their constituency. An MP represents the people of a particular area, and it is their cases they take on. So always include your address — the office uses it to confirm you live in the constituency.

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How do you find your MP?

Through the search service on the Parliament website, by postcode or place name. Local office details are in the Directory of MPs, and also at your town hall or local library.

What is the best way to make contact?

Writing — it is the recommended method because it leaves a written record. Letters go to House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. An MP's email address is in the directory at members.parliament.uk. For a quick question or an appointment, the Commons switchboard is 020 7219 3000, or you can call the constituency office directly.

What is a surgery and why go?

Many MPs hold regular sessions for constituents, known as surgeries. They are face-to-face meetings, and for a complicated case they work better than a letter. Check the MP's website, the library, or ask the office for times.

What can an MP actually do?

Three things. They can make a confidential enquiry to officials or directly to a minister — departments answer an MP differently from an individual applicant. They can refer a case to the Parliamentary Ombudsman. And they can raise the issue publicly in the Commons, through a question, a debate, a motion or an amendment.

When will an MP say no?

If your request conflicts with their party's policy or with the interests of other local people, they may decline. That is a normal outcome, and better known in advance than waited on in vain.

What about during recess?

MPs still deal with constituents' cases. The one thing they do not do in that period is take part in Commons debates. The same applies to ministers, the Speaker and Deputy Speakers: they help their constituents, but usually by means other than raising the matter publicly in the Chamber.

What if there is no reply?

Allow about two weeks. If nothing comes, telephone the office or go to a surgery. A phone reminder works better than a second letter.

What not to do

Do not write to an MP who is not yours: MPs generally act only for people in their own constituency, and the letter will simply be passed on. Do not send the same letter to every MP — mass mailings are unlikely to get attention. And note one formality: if you do write to several MPs, each letter must be stamped and posted separately, as hand delivery is not permitted.

Checked against the UK Parliament website on 27 October 2026.