Writing to your local representatives 

By Emily

When I first joined Hull Friends of the Earth last year, I had just picked up a wonderful copy of ECO and was inspired by the contents. It was amazing to find a local group building awareness of environmental issues and campaigning in support of them. 

After attending my first meeting I was amazed by the knowledge of longstanding members and felt a drive to do something more to fight local and national planning applications with negative environmental impacts. And at that point the fear kicked in! I had never written to one of my representatives before. How would I phrase my frustrations? Did I know enough about the subject I wanted to highlight to them? What information would I need to include? 

After lots of reading a bit of courage I managed to overcome these hurdles so here’s a quick guide to those out there that feel like they want to do something to make a change but aren’t sure where to start!

1. Ready – Help is out there! 
   1. Many campaign sites (the ones we are working on can be found on our campaigns page) have ideas on some of the messaging and phrasing you can include in a message about a particular topic.
   2. You can search here (add hyperlink) to find out the details of your local MP and here (add hyperlink) to find the details for your local councillors
   3. Ask someone from the group who has experience in writing to their local representatives for advice  
2. Steady – Make it Personal
   1. If you are using any phrasing from campaign websites make sure you also add in your personal reasons for being concerned with the issue. 
   2. Make sure to include your address details as your representatives need to make sure they are representing individuals within their constituency. 
3. Go – Send your email or post your letter!
   1. Remember you do have a voice and your opinion is important- we all have the power to make an impact.