What does an MP do?

Sometimes people ask that question, and of course they are entitled to know. The most prominent activity of an MP is speaking in debates in the chamber of the House of Commons and questioning Ministers. But this is only a small part of an MP's work. Support for issues can be registered through Early Day Motions but much serious and time consuming work is done in Committee.

But an MP also works on behalf of the electorate in the home constituency. He can lend his support, send out press releases and therefore generate publicity for local issues. Eric holds regular "surgeries" and does a considerable amount of casework on behalf of individual constituents. On average, there are sixty new cases a month, and each takes an average of two to three months to resolve, some take much longer, depending on the case and complexity. At any one time, there will be between 250 and 300 ongoing cases! Obviously, this work is almost all completely confidential, so details cannot be given.

Your Member of Parliament can investigate matters relating to Parliament or Central Government.

They include:

In certain cases your M.P. can refer your complaint to government ministers or to the Parliamentary Ombudsman. Your M.P. will try to give advice on any problem you have but there are some problems that he cannot investigate.

They include:

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On behalf of Eric Martlew, 3 Chatsworth Square Carlisle Cumbria CA1 1HB