You can contact your MP when you, or people living in your area, are affected by decisions made by the UK Parliament or by the Government. MPs represent all the people in their local area, whether they vote for them or not.

Who is my MP?

Who your MP is depends on where you live. The UK is divided into 650 areas called constituencies, and each constituency is represented by one MP. MPs will generally only act on behalf of people who live in their own constituency, so please check you are contacting the right MP for your address.

You can use your postcode or a place name to search our Find your MP service and find out the name of your MP and how to contact them.

When should I contact my MP?

You could contact your MP:

If you feel you have been treated unfairly by a Government office or agency

To let your MP know about a problem affecting people in your local area

To ask your MP to support a particular campaign that you feel strongly about

Your MP is not always the best person to help with an issue. Before you contact your MP please see our advice on who else may be able to help:

How do I contact my MP?

Writing is probably the best method, as it provides a written record that can be referred to later. You can:

Write a letter to your MP at: House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA

Email them using the contact details in our Directory of MPs

Remember: always include your own address when you write to your MP so that they will know you live in their constituency.

By telephone

If writing is not possible or you just want to ask a quick question or make an appointment, you can telephone your MP’s office:

To telephone their office at the House of Commons, call 020 7219 3000 and ask to be put through to their office giving your MP’s name

To phone your MP at their local constituency office, you will find the contact details at your local town hall or library, or it may be given in the Directory of MPs



Social media

Many MPs can be contacted through Twitter and other platforms. They may also run their own websites. We have added these details to the information in the Directory of MPs where possible.

Attend an MP’s surgery

Most MPs hold regular sessions called surgeries where they meet constituents to talk about issues of concern. If you go to a constituency surgery, it’s best to contact your MP’s office first, to find out whether you need an appointment. Your MP’s website, or your local library may have more information about when and where surgeries are taking place.

Contact by Fax

There is no central fax number for the House of Commons. Please telephone your MP’s office first if you wish to send them a fax directly.

What should I do if my MP hasn’t answered my email/letter?

MPs receive a large amount of correspondence, so cannot always reply immediately. If you haven’t heard back from them after about two weeks, you should follow up your email or letter with a phone call, or make an appointment to go and see them at their local surgery.

What can I ask my MP to do?

MPs can make confidential enquiries with officials or a government minister on your behalf. They can also refer individual cases to be investigated by the Parliamentary Ombudsman. If they agree to support a cause you have raised with them, they may also choose to raise it publicly in the House of Commons – through questions, debates, motions or amendments.

If you ask your MP to support something that conflicts with their party’s policy, or with the interests of other local people, they may decide that they cannot help you.

What if the House of Commons is in recess - can I still contact my MP?

A recess is a break in the parliamentary session (year) where Parliament is not sitting. Although MPs will not be taking part in debates or bill committee proceedings in the Commons, MPs can still help their constituents and may table questions or put their names down to sign Early Day Motions.

MPs often return to their constituencies during long recesses, but you can still contact your local MP at either their parliamentary or constituency offices.

What if my MP is a Minister, Speaker or Deputy Speaker?

If your MP becomes a government minister, the Speaker or one of their deputies, they are still able to help with problems that affect their constituents. They will, though, use other methods instead of raising issues publicly in the Chamber.

Can I contact other MPs?

You should always contact your local MP first to raise an issue at Parliament. However, if your campaign is of general or national importance, you could also contact other MPs who may be interested in supporting you.

To find out which MPs take a special interest in a particular topic or campaign you could:

Check the Register of All-Party Groups to see if there is a relevant group and find out which MPs have joined

Search Parliamentary Material to see if any MPs have asked questions, tabled motions or spoken in debate on the subject recently

Find the Select Committee that covers the general policy area of the issue (such as Health or Transport) and find out who its members are

Find out who the party spokespeople are for that subject in Parliament

If you are interested in a particular Bill that is going through Parliament, you could use the Bills before Parliament pages to look at which MPs have spoken at its Second reading debate and which have been selected to serve on its Public Bill Committee. You can also send in your views on a Bill to the committee as a whole while it is sitting.

It is not a good use of your time to contact every MP in the country about an issue; they receive a lot of correspondence from their own constituents and mass mailings will not get their attention.

If you intend to send a letter to more than one MP you will need to individually address and stamp each one. Bulk mail shots to large numbers of MPs cannot be distributed using the internal mail network. These should still be individually stamped, addressed and posted using the national network and paying the appropriate postage.

Delivery by hand or by courier

Direct deliveries by hand or by courier are not permitted.

Delivery of mail by hand - to Parliament’s secure mail screening centre - can be arranged in advance by calling 0207 474 7987. Please note that deliveries by hand may still be subject to a charge dependent on size and weight.

Packages from courier companies should be delivered to Parliament’s secure consolidation and screening centre. These should be addressed c/o CEVA Logistics, 40-48 Chase Road, London, NW10 6PX.

For all other delivery enquiries, please contact the Head of Logistics for advice on 0207 219 7525.