Write to your MP

There are many ways they can make your voice be heard. MPs can vote on issues related to alcohol harm, raise issues with Government Ministers, meet with Alcohol Change UK, ask questions in Parliament on your behalf and even set up a debate on an issue where a Minister will respond on behalf of the Government.

To find out who your MP is, enter your postcode into this website. You’ll then be able to see their profile which includes their email and constituency office address.

When writing to your MP, make sure you do the following to increase the chances of getting a response:

• Say you are their constituent and give your postcode
• Keep it short – stick to one or two pages
• If you are sending a letter, send it to their constituency office rather than their Parliamentary office
• Ask for a response to your letter

Start by explaining what you are concerned about and what you want your MP to do. Make sure you ask them to respond to you telling you what they have done. If you have been personally affected by alcohol harm, it will help to tell your story as well.

You can then point your MP to our list of policy changes we would like to see. Some of our policy asks include:

• introducing Minimum Unit Pricing in England,
• removing the exclusion for people with alcohol dependence in the Equality Act,
• making alcohol harm a public health priority
• keeping alcohol duty in line with inflation
• a national programme of support for families affected by a loved one’s alcohol use,
• tighter restrictions on alcohol marketing and advertising
• reducing the drink-driving limit

You can email us at [email protected] and we can send you further information on these issues.

You can also ask your MP to get involved with Alcohol Change UK. They can contact us if they need information on how to support their constituents with alcohol issues.

If you are running a fundraiser for Alcohol Change UK, such as a coffee morning, you can also invite your MP to attend your event to learn more about why you are fundraising and how alcohol harm is affecting local people.

If you know that your MP has already been supporting issues on alcohol harm, you can thank them for the work they’ve done. If not, you can ask them how they’ve worked to support alcohol harm issues and what their future plans are. If you’d like to take your concerns further, you can ask to meet with your MP.

Most MPs have a weekly constituency “surgery” where they meet local people and you can ask when this is, and whether you need to book a slot, when you email them.

If you’ve written to your MP, let us know who you have contacted and what you asked them – this will help us coordinate our efforts. Email us, or copy us into your email to your MP.

If you’d like to get involved with more campaign actions in the future, sign up to our mailing list.