How to engage your MP on the Day of Action

The Day of Action is a key moment to engage your local MP ahead of the general election. Find out how to involve them and make the most of their time.

31 Aug 2023

MPs want to hear from people like you, their constituents. You decide whether to vote for them in the next election, so they’ll want to know what local issues are important to you.

That’s why the Day of Action is a key moment for your group, along with local partners, to demand warm homes from your MP(s). MPs need to hear this call loud and clear before the next general election so that our campaign demands are high up on the next UK government’s agenda.

Growing numbers on your petition and creating a community quilt are concrete ways to demonstrate widespread local support. We then need to show this support to MPs by inviting them to community events on the Day of Action.

Preparing your MP for the Day of Action

Involving your MP in your event

See our guide to planning your Day of Action for info on how to plan your event. In particular, don’t forget to set a time to show your finished quilt to your MP and take a photo with them. If you’re handing in your petition, you can do this at the same time.

Plan your Day of Action

Inviting your MP and getting their attention

Find your MP and their contact details online. Then invite them to join your community event by email and/or phone. Don’t be too disheartened if they don’t respond immediately. MPs get a lot of correspondence, so persistence and repetition are key to getting them involved.

It’s best to send the invite together with local partners and organise the community event with them. MPs are more likely to listen if the invite comes from more than one community group so they can immediately see the widespread importance of this issue.

Need help with talking points? Here’s an email template to help get you started.

Dear [full name of MP],

We’re writing to you as concerned constituents of [your constituency] to invite you to attend our United for Warm Homes community event at [location] on Saturday 18 November at [time].

[If Labour MP] We welcome Labour’s manifesto commitment to deliver a national Warm Homes Plan to upgrade 19 million homes over a decade, which includes locally delivered street-by-street loft insulation. As a Labour MP, we’d like to give you the opportunity to share your thoughts on this at our event and join your constituents in committing to warm homes that don’t cost the Earth.

[If MP from other parties] Communities across your constituency have come together to demand urgent government action on warm homes. This includes rolling out a rapid, street-by-street insulation programme to help lower sky-high energy bills and cut emissions to protect people and planet.

[All MPs] Estimates suggest that at least 5 million households are facing fuel poverty in 2023. People are struggling to heat their homes, put food on the table, or afford basic essentials. On top of this, homes in the UK are the leakiest in Western Europe, wasting valuable warmth and energy as well as contributing to climate emissions.

The United for Warm Homes campaign has solutions, such as urgently rolling out a rapid, street-by-street insulation programme. We want MPs to listen to our demands and commit to them ahead of the next general election.

At our event on 18 November, we’ll be finishing a community quilt to showcase the breadth of local support for warm homes. We’ll be joined by [list of local partners] from the local area and have let the local press know about the event. We’d like you to attend so that we can discuss our campaign, show you our community quilt, hand in our petition for warm homes and take a photo [tweak as appropriate].

Please let us know as soon as possible if you can attend. This is an important issue for your constituents. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

[Name of group and local partners]

You could also find creative ways to invite your MP, like sending a quilt square to their office and sharing this on social media to get their attention.

MPs are also more likely to listen and act if they see warm homes popping up in the local media. For example, Norwich for Warm Homes got some good coverage when it launched its local campaign in December 2022, showing the breadth of support in Norwich. Check out our Day of Action guide for more information on how to make a splash in the local media.

Hosting your MP on the day

By this point you should know if your MP will be attending your event. It’s ok if they aren’t, as this is just the start of the United for Warm Homes campaign’s push to be seen and heard by MPs directly. We have lots more ideas up our sleeves for how to get their attention in the run-up to the general election in 2024.

If your MP isn’t attending your event, make sure you:

Invite local journalists to the event so they can share in the press for your MP(s) to see.
Invite other politicians, such as the council leader or mayor, to put pressure on your MP(s).
Hand in your petition digitally by email and share on social media, if you’re ready to do so.

Keeping your MP involved at the event

Assign a person from your group to look after your MP on the day so that they can discuss the campaign and guide them around the event, including the photo opportunity.
You could connect your MP to a person at the event experiencing the effects of fuel poverty, or an individual who wants street-by-street insulation in their home.
Connect your MP with local journalists if they’ve attended the event too.
Take lots of photos and encourage them to share these on their social media.

Following up after the Day of Action

If your MP attended

Send a thank you email and follow up on any commitments you made to your MP, for example to send them further info about the campaign. You can also send a public thank you on social media. If your MP made any of their own commitments regarding warm homes, or if they discussed next steps, follow up in writing to remind everyone of these.
If they didn’t make any commitments or propose next steps, ask to meet them to discuss the campaign more. Nervous about meeting your MP? Read our tips on how to make the best out of meeting your MP.

If your MP didn’t attend

Not to worry. You can:

Share local press releases on how the event went.
Share pictures from and info on the community event itself, including your beautiful community quilt.
Hand in your petition digitally by email and share on social media, if you’re ready to do so.
Persist and ask if they'd like to meet to discuss the campaign further.

Please tell us about how your community event went and share your stories and pictures.

Share your stories