If you are in the UK, please email your MP asking them to sign Early Day Motion 1247.

What is an EDM?

Early day motions (EDMs) are motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons for which no day has been fixed.

As there is no specific time allocated to EDMs very few are debated. However, many attract a great deal of public interest and media coverage and are a useful campaigning tool for organisations such as #MEAction to turn up the political volume and to help build for a wider debate.

This new EDM sponsored by Carol Monaghan MP, calls on the House of Commons to:

Recognise Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) Awareness Week

Recognise the work being done by campaigners and charities to highlight ME as a physical condition

Acknowledge the detrimental effects of the PACE trial

A suggested email transcript is available or use the form at the bottom of this page.

Carol led the parliamentary debate on the PACE trial last February in which the Minister acknowledged a wider debate would be warranted. We have been working alongside the ME Association and other charities to produce a comprehensive briefing document for MP’s to this end. Encouraging your MP to sign EDM 1247, not only gives weight to an application for a debate but helps us to know where our supportive MP’s are.

NB: Not all MP’s can (or will) sign EDM’s. This includes Ministers, Whips, Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPS’s) and the Speaker/ Deputy Speaker of the House.

If your MP can not / does not sign the EDM but is still supportive, then please do let us know ( [email protected] )

This is a great opportunity to educate MPs who are unaware of the struggles facing the ME community, as well as giving MPs who are aware of ME a simple next step to take. It will also help campaigners identify sympathetic MPs so they can best direct their efforts towards those who are more likely to take up our cause on a longer term basis in parliament.

Please find a suggested email below. If you can personalise it, it is more likely to get a positive response. For example you could include a paragraph about your story with ME or that of someone you know. MPs get a lot of emails though so keep it short and polite.

Also MPs can only take up matters on behalf of their own constituents so please include your address and specifically your postcode if you feel able to.

We have provided sample text for sending or you can automatically generate and send via “WriteToThem” using the form below.

Step 1: Enter a few details below and click the “generate” button, a personalised message will be automatically copied to your clipboard, and you will be taken to the website “Write to them” allowing you to email your MP directly. Step 2: Paste your message into the box, replacing the current text (feel free to change this however you feel is appropriate but please be polite and avoid any temptation of introducing party politics!) Step 3: Let us know if you have had a positive response from your MP by contacting [email protected] Note: The information entered here is to create a personalised message only. We do not save any of this information. Your Name: Your Postcode: Generate » Dear [Name of MP], I am writing as a constituent and as [a friend/ally/caregiver/family member of] a person with ME, to ask you to sign EDM 1247 – ME Awareness Week 2018. ( http://bit.ly/edm1247 ) As you may know, ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) is a devastating neuro-immune disease affecting 250,000 people in the UK, of whom 25% (62,500 people) are housebound or bedbound. There is currently no effective treatment for ME due to decades of underfunding for biomedical research. This EDM recognises ME Awareness Week, which was bigger than ever this year, especially due to the growing movement of #MillionsMissing actions that happened across the country. 29 cities in the UK and more than 100 globally joined in laying out empty pairs of shoes to represent the millions of people worldwide missing from their lives due to ME. Charities and campaigners also lit up buildings in blue, encouraging others to do the same to bring this illness out of the shadows. The EDM also acknowledges the detrimental effects of the PACE Trial, a study of psychological and behavioural therapies for ME, which continues to influence medical care despite having been widely discredited. Please let me know if you are willing to sign this EDM. I look forward to hearing from you, [YourName] [Your address including postcode] [YourName] [Your address including postcode]

*Note: If possible, consider making an appointment to see your MP and give a hard copy of the briefing. It is far more likely to be read if you are sitting in front of them! You don’t need to be an expert, but we want MP’s to understand the impact the guidelines have on individuals – share your own story. Personal connection will have a lot more impact (Maybe a friend or relative could attend for you?)