What do MPs do ?

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Many people think that MPs do very little and in some cases this may be true.

A good MP will

1) Hold surgeries to hear from the constituents

2) Attend Parliament

3) Research subjects to be voted on

4) Support local work in the constituency

5) Attend functions and explain the work of the MP

6) Deal with problems that constituents have brought to the attention of the MP 

 An MP is responsible for the constituency that elected them by bringing the views of the constituency to the debating chamber; there are also duties to parliament such as voting on issues and legislation as set before the house. Most MPs also have to take into account the wishes of the party that they belong to and vote as they are instructed to do, this does mean that the views of the electorate are often lost in the sea of competing interests.

Now an answer in more detail

Your question is like looking at a small piece of a jigsaw and hoping to be able to see the whole picture. There are many different accounts of when the British parliament originated and indeed how it began, I have chosen the reign of Henry 8^th as a reasonable start point, there were meetings and so called parliaments before this time recorded in various documents but the time of the reformation (1530s) is the first time a monarch used the power of parliament for the dissolution of the monasteries and the break from the roman catholic church. Development came slowly to the fledgling parliament as rules and practices developed.

As you can see from the above the British parliament has been a constant evolution rather than a fixed design and therefore the work, powers and responsibilities of an MP have changed and continue to change.

There are different types of MP and their obligations are slightly (but importantly) different. There are party MPs and independent MPs.

Type 1) Party MPs.

Party MPs are elected to put forward the ideals of the political party to which they belong therefore when a vote is called in parliament (unless it is a free vote) have to vote as instructed by their party, therefore if your MP is a member of a political party the voice of the electorate is often only important at election time so if your chosen party does not carry out the promises that it made in its manifesto you as a voter have very little power to hold your MP to account. Party MPs have their election expenses paid for by the party that they belong to. There is no need for a party candidate to have had any political experience or ability in order to become a candidate.

Type 2) Independent MPs.

Independent MPs do not have a party to instruct them on how to vote in parliament and therefore are far more able to represent the views of the electorate that voted for them at the general election (it is of course true that an independent MP is just as capable of ignoring the wishes of the electorate and vote as they wish but they will have to explain their actions more directly to the electorate). Therefore as you can see an independent MP is likely to be far more responsive to the local electorate. Independent MPs pay all their own electoral expenses, there is no help or allowances that can be claimed and therefore an independent MP has far more to lose at election time than a party candidate. Independent candidates tend to be driven by a wish / passion to represent the electorate rather than to be just looking for a job. If Bill Holden were to be elected as your MP, with no party to tell him how to vote, your opinions would carry much more weight.

The electoral cycle for parliament in the UK is notionally 5 years but an election can be called any time before the 5 years is past under a variety of different situations. An election must be held every 5 years (there have been exceptions to this rule in times of national emergency such as the Second World War).

Once elected party MPs have to balance the demands of three main groups: their political party, parliament and the constituency that elected them, they support their party by voting as instructed by the party whips and by representing their party’s interests to their local constituency.

Once elected Independent MPs have to balance the demands of just two main groups: the constituency that elected them and parliament.

There are many different ways in which you can engage the help of your MP, this is often known as lobbying when it is done on a wide base issue rather than a personal issue, (we will deal with personal issues in a moment).

You can ask your MP to

1)      Present a petition to parliament (you have probably seen other petitions being delivered by other groups on TV).

2)      Vote for or against a new piece of legislation that is to be put before parliament

3)      Speak about your campaign in parliament debates (don’t forget that these days the debates in parliament are often seen on TV therefore the publicity for your cause can be given quite a boost).

4)      Ask your MP to contact other MP’S or ministers in order to raise your issues at a higher level.

5)      There is another procedural idea that you can put forward to your MP This is an EDM (early day motion), Your MP has limited chances to initiate legislation or debate, one of the ways in which this can be achieved is by an EDM. In order for an EDM to be considered it must first have the support of a number of MPs, once the critical mass has been achieved the matter may be raised in the house. There is only a limited number of EDMs that can be raised due to time pressures.

6)      If you are running a campaign you could invite your MP to your events in order to both achieve support / interaction etc, the local press may be more likely to report your case if you can offer your MP a publicity opportunity. Good ideas for this purpose are fundraising, presenting awards, etc.

7)      If your MP does not wish to assist you do not forget that the other candidates at the last election may be able to offer you assistance as they may still be keen to build profile for the next election.

As you have seen from the above it is possible to engage the help of other MPs via various paths but as a rule if you have a local issue you should contact your local MP even if you did not vote for that person at election time. If your issue is one that has already attracted the support of other MPs it is ok to contact them with regard to your own campaign. There are cross party committees and groups of MPs who may be interested in hearing from you.

What are they responsible for ? 

As you may expect MPs work at the top of the legislative framework and therefore tend to deal with national government problems rather than local government issues. Your MP may be able to assist you with a problem with benefits, immigration, schools, hospitals, employment etc but would not be able to help with getting your bin emptied, so before you contact your MP check that your problem is related to national government and schemes rather than local government. Your MP may be able to get information that will help sort out a local problem but that is not really his / her job.  

 What can they not do ?

MPs will not be able to help directly or indirectly with any decision of a court, neighbour disputes or other private matters, disputes between you and your local council, and disputes between you and a company.

You should not normally approach an MP other than your own for help. This does not mean that you cannot.

 I Suggest

If you are not getting anywhere with your problem then I suggest that you contact your MP, they are busy people but they are only humans ( Not Gods ) and it is their job to try to do their best for you if it is something that falls within their power to do.

Don’t forget your MP is paid a lot of money in order to represent you and assist you, they are given all sorts of perks that go with the job, make them work for you and do not allow arrogance of office to stop you from receiving what you are paying for.

You can check how your MP has voted on issues on the www.parliament.uk website

Whilst not strictly a part of this answer it may be useful to point out that if you have a particular wide base issue it may be a good idea to contact members of the House of Lords. Whilst we may have mixed feelings about the House of Lords, its members are a useful contact point for raising issues. You can contact any of the members of the House of Lords in order to seek help with your issue. Most of the members of the lords are party orientated and therefore you should contact the members with regard to their political leanings and their own personal interests.

Other good ideas for you to research are (type one of these into you search engine)

Early day motion, Ombudsman, Ten minute rule bill, Adjournment debate, Private members Bill, Parliamentary questions.

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