◄Previous: 2 Making change via the UK Parliament

# 2.1 Raise your issue in the UK Parliament

Whether the issue you’re passionate about is local, national, or international there are lots of ways to raise the profile of your campaign in the UK Parliament. Who should you be speaking to and what could you ask them to do?

Figure 6: The UK Parliament House of Commons debating chamber.

Did you know… you can speak to your Member of Parliament

Most MPs hold regular sessions called surgeries where they meet constituents to talk about issues of concern – this can be face to face or online. Your MP’s website will have information about constituency surgeries. It will help your MP to help you if you bring along any documents or information about the issue or campaign you want to discuss. Find your MP’s contact details at: www.parliament.uk/findyourmp

Did you know… MPs can hold debates

MPs can request time for debates on local, national, and international issues. They put their case to the Backbench Business Committee which allocates time on issues that have broad cross-party support among MPs, with many debates coming about through campaigns.

Did you know... Members of the House of Lords can support your campaign

Alongside your local MP, members of the Lords may also support your campaign. Members of the Lords are often appointed due to their knowledge and experience in areas such as business, health, education, the arts and sports. They play a key role in challenging the government and can help to champion your cause as they often have more freedom from party politics than MPs. Lords don’t represent a particular constituency but speak out on issues that interest them/they are expert in. You can search for members of the Lords online whose policy interests and expertise align with your campaign on www.parliament.uk/lords

Did you know… Members of both Houses can put questions to the government

You can ask members of both Houses to support your campaign by asking them to submit written questions to government departments and ask questions in the Chambers. Questions can be used to appeal for further information and press for action, so consider what sort of question would help your campaign most. For example, MPs or Lords can ask the government what it is doing about an issue or how many people have been affected by a problem or have been helped by a specific policy. They can also use questions as a direct way of urging the government to take action.

Did you know… there are All-Party Parliamentary Groups

All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) are informal, cross-party groups formed by MPs and members of the Lords who share a common interest in a particular policy area, region, or country. While they are not official Parliamentary committees, these groups can sometimes be influential because of their non-party political approach to an issue. If the focus of an APPG aligns with your campaign, you could approach members to ask if they’ll add their support. You can read more about APPGs including a list of the different groups on www.parliament.uk/about/mps-and-lords/members/apg/

Did you know… there are select committees

Anyone can submit written evidence online to a select committee. Submitting evidence to one may not be the first thing that springs to mind when you want to raise the profile of an issue – but following committees online and submitting evidence can have a big impact and lead to positive changes.

At the beginning of an inquiry, select committees call for written evidence. Committees will also invite interested parties to give oral evidence to the committee where they may explore the focus of written evidence in more depth. Your experience or the focus of your campaign may provide valuable insights to a select committee inquiry. You can follow select committees online and find out when inquiries are taking place so you can submit evidence online: www.parliament.uk/about/how/committees/select/

◄Contents►Next: 2.2 Getting your MP on board

OpenLearn - Introduction to making political and social change
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