How to contact your MP or MSP (and what to actually say)
Most people never contact their representatives, and the main reason is not apathy. It is not knowing how it works.
By Graeme · 31 July 2026 · 4 min read
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Most people never write to the people who represent them. When you ask why, the answer is almost never that they do not care. It is that nobody ever told them how it works, and nobody wants to look daft.
So here is the whole thing, plainly. There is no test, no form of words you have to get right, and no way to do it wrong.
First: you have two of them
Everyone in Scotland has both an MP and an MSP. They are different people in different buildings deciding different things.
- Your MP works in the UK Parliament in London. They help decide Universal Credit, most benefits, help with private rent, tax and the State Pension.
- Your MSP works in the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh. They help decide the Scottish Child Payment, council houses, homelessness help, schools, childcare and the NHS in Scotland.
You do not need to work out which one handles your issue. If you are not sure, write to both. Nobody will mind, and the wrong one will usually pass it on.
You do not need to have voted for them
This is the one that stops people most often. An MP or MSP represents everyone who lives in their area — people who voted for them, people who voted against them, and people who did not vote at all. They still have to deal with you.
What to actually say
Short is better than long. A message that takes two minutes to read is more likely to be read than one that takes ten. A good one has four parts:
- Where you live. This is the part that makes them have to answer. They represent your area, so say you live in it.
- One fact. Not ten. One clear, checkable local figure lands harder than a general complaint about the state of things.
- A clear question. Something specific enough that a vague reply is obviously a vague reply.
- A request for an answer. Ask them to reply. It changes how the message is handled.
What not to worry about
Spelling. Grammar. Whether you sound clever enough. None of it matters, and none of it is being judged. Staff read constituent mail all day and what registers is that a real person in the area took the time to write.
Being angry is fine. Threatening anybody is not, and will get your message binned.
What happens next
You will usually get a reply, though it can take a few weeks. It might be a standard letter rather than a personal one — that is normal and it does not mean it was ignored.
Offices keep a record of what constituents are writing in about. That is the part people underestimate: even where an individual reply is short, the volume of letters on a subject is tracked, and it shapes what gets raised. One letter is a data point. Two hundred from the same area is a problem that needs managing.
If you get a non-answer
Write back once, quoting your original question and asking it again. Politely refusing to accept a non-answer is entirely legitimate, and it is what journalists do.
The one-minute version
If all of that still feels like effort, that is exactly why this site exists. Put in your postcode and I will find both of your representatives, put your own area's figures into the message, write both emails and open them in your email app. You read them, change anything you like, and press send.
Write to your MP and MSP now
Enter your postcode. I find the right people and write both emails for you. Nothing is sent from this site and your postcode is not saved.
Write my emails for meNot sure who represents you? Find your MP's area or look up your council.
