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Contact your MP

By writing to your MP or meeting them in person, you can help them to understand more about a local nature issue you care passionately about.

The UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, and to change that we need wildlife to be a priority consideration in all areas of policy. It is important that MPs hear from constituents that nature recovery is a key priority for them, and that they are given guidance and information that allows them speak up in parliament to ensure that the needs of mammals and their habitats are considered.

Currently the Mammal Society is particularly concerned about an apparent de-prioritisation of nature protections demonstrated in the Planning & Infrastructure Bill being pushed through parliament, and a lack of investment in nature-friendly farming.

Guidance on contacting your MP and some of the national issues you may wish to raise can be found below. However we would especially urge you to send an email about the Planning & Infrastructure Bill to help prevent it being pushed through in its current form. The email template below can be used as-is or customised in order to convey your personal concerns to your MP.

The P&I Bill has amended substantially, with some language changes lessening the risk to nature. However even in its amended form the fundamental approach to the environmental outcomes framework threatens to leave areas devoid of local nature, and reduces protections for vulnerable species and habitats. A significant amendment (Amendment 130) has been passed in the House of Lords during debates in the Committee stage. This limits the use of Environmental Development Plans (EDPs) to landscape scale impacts such as air quality, so that they can't be used as a way to bypass obligations to minimise impact on vulnerable species and irreplaceable habitats. In the original part 3 of the bill, EDPs could be created as an alternative to avoiding impact on wildlife on and around the development site. Developers could pay into a centralised Nature Recovery Fund instead - but even if used to bring benefits to nature those benefits could be in a different place and leave the local area and any specific species or habitats in that area damaged or destroyed.

This amendment will only become part of the final bill if also passed in the House of Commons when the amended bill returns there for debate. It is vital that MPs understand the importance of this amendment and vote for its inclusion.

Alternatively our friends at the Wildlife Trusts make it easy to find and email your MP about this issue. Visit their P&I campaign page here.

Download draft email on Planning & Infrastructure Bill

Engage your MP

MPs want to know what it is you care about. Not only do they want to hear from you, they also have a duty to listen - their job is to represent you in Parliament!

Writing to your MP is a great way to show them that wildlife and strong environment laws are important to the people they represent. You can also encourage them to speak up for nature and champion ambitious measures to protect and restore mammal populations locally and nationwide.

If you want to make an stronger impression, you can meet your MP. This is the most effective way to make sure that your opinion and the need for nature's recovery are foremost on their mind. Meeting your MP is a great way to tell them in person how important ambitious environment laws are. It shows them how much it means to you, the people they represent, that there are strong laws in place to ensure the recovery of wildlife and protect and create green spaces for future generations. This also gives you the opportunity to ensure they understand your points and how important they are to you through a two-way conversation that can address misconceptions and clarify where their knowledge of ecological and environmental concepts may be lacking.

  • You can write letters to your MP’s local constituency office, or send an email to their constituency email address. To find out who your MP is, and see their contact details, you can use this tool to enter your postcode and see who represents you:

    Find your MP

    Some MPs might not provide their constituency office address or email. In this case, write to their parliamentary office using their parliamentary email or House of Commons address.

    Your MP’s House of Commons address will be:
    [MP’s Name]
    House of Commons,
    London,
    SW1A 0AA

    MPs are very busy people, so don't be offended if they don't get back to you straight away.

  • Share your story:
    MPs love personal stories. Share yours with them, choosing experiences that have taken place in your local area and meant a lot to you, or talking about how important wildlife and the natural world is to you and people around you. This way you can show your MP how much the natural environment in your area matters. Perhaps there are some moments shared with your Wildlife Trust or events you’ve attended that stand out? 

    Have a clear ask:
    To make your letter or email as successful as possible, make sure you have some clear things to ask your MP to do for you. For example, you could ask them to back strong environment laws in parliament, or write to their Party Leader and their environment team to attend Bill readings important for wildlife. You could even ask them what they think they can do to help make this happen!

    Add your address:
    Finally, don't forget to put your full postal address on anything you write to your MP so they know you live in their constituency.

  • Your best option for meeting your MP is to ask to meet them in your constituency. You may find it easiest to meet them during one of their constituency surgeries, which they hold at least once a month - many hold them most Fridays. This is when your MP meets their constituents to talk about things affecting them and for people to raise concerns about politics or local issues, so it's the perfect time to tell them why nature's recovery matters to you!

    The first step for organising a meeting is to contact them or the people who work in their constituency office. You can find out who your MP is and their contact details by using this tool:

    Find your MP

    You can write to their constituency office by letter or email or call them on the number provided. If no contact details for their constituency is provided, simply write to the email address or call the number of their Parliamentary office. You could also write a letter requesting a meeting to this office - their Parliamentary address is:

    [MP's Name]
    House of Commons,
    London,
    SW1A 0AA

    Failing this, other options available include visiting your MP's website or your local library for more information about where the surgery is held.

    When you ask for a meeting, explain what you want to meet your MP about and offer some times and dates you’d like to meet. You may have to be flexible about meeting - MPs have full diaries but are good about making time for everyone.

    Don't forget to put your full postal address on anything you write to your MP so they know you live in their constituency.

  • Share your story:
    MPs love personal stories. Share yours with them, choosing experiences that have taken place in your local area and meant a lot to you. This way you can show your MP how much the natural environment in your area matters. Perhaps there are some moments shared with your Wildlife Trust or events you've attended that stand out? Can you think how even more wildlife in your area would help to improve it?

    Have a clear ask:
    To make your meeting as successful as possible, make sure you have some clear things to ask your MP to do for you. For example, you could ask them to write to their Party Leader, and their environment team to attend the reading of any environmental Bills for all the reasons shared above. You can also ask them what they think they can do to help make nature's recovery happen too!

    Don’t worry if you’re not an expert:
    It’s your MP’s job to listen to you and you will probably know far more than them - just be passionate about the issue.

    Take a photo:
    Ask your MP if you can take a photo with them - this is a great way to let others know that people have been speaking to them about nature’s recovery, and to encourage them to do the same. MPs often like the publicity too!

  • You may wish to raise an issue of personal interest or concern with your MP, or just use the meeting to increase their awareness of the importance of mammals and the issues that affect them to put this on their radar. It is best to have at least one specific request for them, since this becomes something tangible they can take away and do, and something that you can follow up about to ask for a status update.

    Here are a few topics you may wish to raise:

    1. The Planning & Infrastructure Bill
      This bill is currently being debated in parliament, and proposes that current requirements to mitigate the impact of development on local protected species and habitats could be bypassed to allow the development to move ahead, provided money is paid into a central ‘nature recovery fund’ to be used for national projects to restore nature. This poses a threat to vulnerable mammal species that need widespread habitat and connected landscapes. There has also been a lot of scapegoating of wildlife as the cause for delayed or failed development projects, which is undermining public understanding of the importance of protecting wildlife. Use or adapt our template letter to raise this important and urgent issue. Template Letter

    2. Nature-friendly farming
      Over 65% of the UK landscape is used for farming, and intensive agriculture often makes these vast swathes of landscape unfriendly to mammals and other wildlife. Agricultural land can deliver for humans and wildlife if there is consideration of connectivity, habitat at field edges and in hedgerows or tree lines between fields, space left for nature around water courses, and an avoidance of pesticides that obliterate soil life and lead to a lack of food for mammals. Farmers can struggle to make changes while protecting their livelihoods, so government support in this area is vital. However the budget to support environmental land management schemes (ELMS) is under threat of being reduced, hampering the efforts of farmers who would be willing to do their bit to protect wildlife and make landscapes more resilient.

    3. Hare close season
      A Bill awaiting its second reading proposes to ‘Establish a close season, from the start of February to the end of September, during which the killing or taking of hares is prohibited; repeal the seasonal prohibition of the sale of hares in the Hares Preservation Act 1892; and for connected purposes.’
      The Mammal Society supports this change in legislation, which we hope would reduce the unjustifiable killing of hares in the landscape. Though brown hares are non-native, they now occupy an important ecological niche and rarely cause serious crop damage. Shooting is often for sport rather than pest control, and this close season would give them a layer of protection currently denied them.
      More information

  • We know how frustrating and disheartening it is when your MP doesn’t seem to listen, repeatedly sends stock responses, or simply doesn’t respond to you at all. While it can feel futile, it is absolutely vital that constituents continue to make their concerns known to MPs about issues they care strongly about. MPs are publicly elected, and are obligated to listen to you, and respond to your concerns. 

    If everyone stops contacting their MP because they don’t think they’ll listen, the MP won’t hear the valid concerns of their constituents. They will likely start to feel the issue is no longer facing opposition. It is important to keep up the pressure to make sure an MP knows when they don’t have constituent backing. The more MPs that find themselves in this position, the more likely they are to question the government’s position.

    We do see examples where MPs who were strongly opposed to certain developments or issues have done complete u-turns due to consistent engagement from their constituents, sometimes over several years.

    At the same time, showing the people around you, in person or on social media, that you oppose an issue and are contacting your MP has a huge impact. Seeing that you’ve contacted your MP often encourages those around you to do the same, feeling encouraged and reassured that they’re not alone.