Lobbying elected officials
Who should you contact, and how?
If your campaign touches on issues that are specific to the local area, such as social care, or other local services, you may wish to contact a Councillor.
You may want to contact your MSP if it is related to a devolved issue, such as Scottish law and legislation, education, the environment, health and social services, housing, or justice. You can find out more about contacting your MSP on the Scottish Parliament website. If the matter is broader and not devolved (such as defence, trade, UK Laws, immigration and visas), you can write to your MP. You may contact your MSP or MP to them to lobby them to vote in a particular way on a Bill or to encourage them to advocate for specific actions on an issue that matters to you.
In some cases, you may wish to write to a member of the House of Lords if they are working on a Bill that is pertinent to your campaign. Bills must be approved both by the House of Commons and the House of Lords before they become law (an Act). The House of Lords is also intended to question the work of the UK Government and debate policy. Lords are not elected and do not represent specific constituencies, but they may still be worth writing to where they are working on legislation or they have subject expertise relevant to your campaign. You can find contact details for Lords on the UK Parliament website.
General rules for writing to officials
Begin with a suitable greeting addressing them using their full name i.e. Dear Willie Rennie, and state why you are writing to them. You should put the topic in the email subject line too. Be courteous, brief, and clear when you are explaining your argument; they receive hundreds of emails every day, and you want to make it as easy as possible for them to reply to you. You might include relevant data or other evidence to demonstrate why this matter is important and why they should agree with you. Conclude with something like “Thank you for your time, I look forward to your response.” Your sign off should be your full name and your address with postcode (a Councillor, MP or MSP will only reply to you if you live within their constituency).
It is best if you write in your own words, adapting any mass-distributed emails so you can explain why this matter is important to you specifically – your email is more likely to be answered that way.
If you are arranging a letter writing campaign that you want others to get involved with, you could write a template containing:
- Greeting and opening (linking them to how to find the appropriate official)
- Why you are writing to that official in particular (they are your local Councillor/MSP/MP, because you know they have subject matter knowledge, or because you are aware they hold similar views to your campaign)
- Context about your wider campaign and its aims
- Data and other research evidence
- A nudge to give personal feedback on why this matter is important
- What you are hoping the official will do (vote on an upcoming Bill in a particular way etc.)
- Closing (including adding their full name and UK postal address)
You may find TheyWorkForYou and WriteToThem useful resources to help you stay informed and find and write to the most relevant official.
General do’s and don’ts:
- Do:
- Make sure your email is going to the right person. Does this person have the influence or remit to do what you are asking of them? If not, they’re probably not the right person to contact.
- Open your email politely, using their full name
- Provide data/research evidence if you have it to support your point (don’t worry if not)
- Show passion about the topic, clearly explain what you want them to do and why they should do it
- Thank them for taking the time to read your email and end by saying that you hope to hear from them soon
- Don't:
- Be rude or disrespectful (they probably won’t reply)
- Be too informal
- Make your email too long. Keep it as concise as you can while still explaining your campaign, evidence if relevant, and what you want them to do