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How to contact & influence
your local politicians
What do you need from us to feel more confident
in talking to your local politicians about the coal
mine?

Thoughts in the chat box!

How to find the contact details for your local
politicians
https://members.parliament.uk/
https://www.cumbria.gov.uk/council-democracy/yourcouncil.asp
https://members.parliament.uk/
https://hansard.parliament.uk/
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/
Who are the politicians listening to?

https://followerwonk.com/compare

https://tweepdiff.com/
How best to go about contacting your MP

Ring, then follow up with an email

Have specific asks/actions for the politician, such as:
- Ask for them to meet with you or a group of constituents
- Ask them to attend an event or debate, or to table an application for a debate
- Ask them to submit a written question or oral question
- Ask them to write a letter to the relevant Minister
State clearly your reason for contacting & your point of view
Only include the main arguments in the email - attach more info as briefings or using links
- Use data and case studies, infographics, highlight the ‘killer’ facts and stats, be solutions-oriented
Format professionally, proofread, spell check, etc
The way you address the MP in the email doesn’t matter too much– they work for you, after all!
How to continue to build your relationship with your MP

Always include a follow up:

- Invite them to an event, ask them to do something in Parliament (such as attend a

debate), or ask them for a meeting – and hold them to account on whether they do
this

Say you will be in touch again - and do. Regularly contact them with follow up
information and updates.

Build a relationship with their staff, as a constituent who is friendly and a reliable
source of information.
How to prepare for meetings with politicians & get the most out of those
meetings
Understand what the person you’re talking to actually cares about – rather than going into the
meeting thinking ‘you should care about this’, and change your framing/emphasis to suit this.
Think what role this meeting is playing in the wider campaign.
Prepare for the meeting: organise a pre-meet to decide on content and roles, and prepare a
briefing pack/notes
During the meeting:
- Get notes/pen out prior to the meeting
- Accept their hospitality & be ready with small talk
- Mirror body language: nod encouraging, practice active listening, don’t look like you need to
leave
- Be persuasive, not combative or ‘preachy’, allow discussion, don’t take it personally
- Have actions/follow up/next point of contact ready to go
At the end of the meeting, reflect on what’s been agreed & agree a timetable for follow up
Do you have other ideas/thoughts on how to engage the Cumbrian
Conservative MPs?

Who do we want to influence? Trudy Harrison (Copeland), Mark Jenkinson (Workington),

John Stevenson (Carlisle), Simon Fell (Barrow in Furness), Neil Hudson (Penrith and the
Borders)

https://jamboard.google.com/d/1byPkq2gZImUhs6wzAzC4L5Xs7my806bJFiPyejsrvEI/edit
?usp=sharing
 Influencing Conservative politicians
Emphasise…

- That you are a constituent & a local

- Opportunities for jobs (that are high-tech, high skilled & levelled up’, rather than ‘green jobs’), investment, science, tech and
R&D – in the constituency

- The visible/tangible changes to people’s qualify of life & communities that come from climate policy (freezing bus fares)
- The contribution of the policy to achieving net zero (rather than a Green New Deal)
- The value for money (for the public & treasury), and costs of acting now vs. in the future, and positive contribution to the
economy from ‘acting first’

- Opportunity for global leadership & making the most of post-Brexit Britain opportunities (especially in comparison to the
EU, and in the G7).

- Opportunities to continue to win over the ‘red wall’ and working class communities, as well as win ground from Labour on
climate policies

- A sense of patriotism; being proud & confident both OF the UK, and AS the UK.
- Critical messages of climate hypocrisy, policy inconsistent, endangering COp2 reputation – but being solutions oriented
rather than just flagging a problem.
DON’T emphasise…

- Moral arguments without any evidence (i.e. you have a duty to care about this, you SHOULD care about
this if you’re a decent/ethical person, you’re a bad person for not)

- Policies that are strongly connected to other political parties (i.e. the green new deal), or quote left wing
MPs (such as Caroline Lucas or Clive Lewis)

- That the Government, other Tory MPs or Ministers are rubbish/need to be replaced

- Overly negative, attacking them personally, getting angry, trying to guilt trip them, saying that we’re all
doomed
Role Play!

You are a constituent trying to convince your MP to stop supporting the coal mine.
During the meeting your MP is…

Break out room 1 - …Focusing solely on the argument that ‘the coal mine will bring
much need jobs into the area’

Break out room 2 - …keeps saying that everyone who is anti-mine isn’t really a local,
they don’t really understand the area or live here; locals support the mine

Breakout room 3 - …saying that they support action on climate change but
unfortunately there is just no alternative to the coal mine for West Cumbria

Breakout room 4 - …saying that the coal mine won’t have a negative climate impact – it
will help contribute to net zero.
Which constituency are you in?

https://jamboard.google.com/d/1A5hvbHvjbgQgWRk6IWj_9Slh7-zDzVVLGv_XJE4HSb8/edi
t?usp=sharing

Don’t know? Find out here: https://members.parliament.uk/constituencies

 Upcoming Events

● 24 August - Insight into FoE legal case

● 31 August - Speaking at a Public Inquiry
● 3 September - Film screening at Helena Thompson Museum
organised by Climate Emergency West Cumbria
 Thank You!

● How do you feel about contacting your MP

now?