We can be powerful - together we can influence what happens!

Its easy to email your MP and I suggest write courteously (who wants to listen to someone who is rude to them?) but clearly saying what you want them to hear and what action you are asking them to take.

www.parliament.uk/get-involved/contact-an-mp-or-lord/contact-your-mp/

This is assuming your MP takes any notice of you. I have found mailing or contacting my MP, whether my current one, or ones I have had in the past, a complete waste of time. I have sometimes had the brush off, but usually I get no response at all.

My letters/ now emails are courteously worded and never extreme.

Thank you MOnica. Its great that you have emailed your MP - I found that I either didn't get replies or got standard replies at first, but I kept on emailing him and now sometimes get personal replies or even get my message forwarded to a minister. But even if we don't get a reply, they do note how many messages they get on any specific topic and if they get enough, they know their constituents really care about it and (sometimes) it means that they do contact a minister, or vote as their constituents have urged them to. I agree - it can feel thankless - but I think its worth keeping going. It does no harm and can do good.

Except of course in the majority of cases the emails are not read or answered by the MP but by an assistant

I agree - the emails are opened and read by an assistant. But the assistant is the gate keeper and will tell the MP e.g. that there are a lot of emails coming in objecting to parliamentary bill xyz, and will sometimes show the MP a message she (and I guess it is usually a she) thinks the MP should see. Its about doing something - rather than just feeling strongly and not doing anything. Of course its also worth joining or supporting organisations which care about what you care about - for me that includes those working for fair voting for example.

I regularly email my MP and always get a fairly detailed reply. I didn’t vote fir him, he has probably worked that out, but he is representing me and needs to know my views.
It’s very easy and yes more of us should do this. They never seek our opinions so let them know anyway,

It can also means that the MP doesn't give a toss, and given the MPs involved, that is my preferred interpretation.

My MP rates very high for replying to constituents, although I'm not sure they keep those figures any more. I can see what they were until 2015, does anyone know what happened then?
www.writetothem.com/stats/2015/mps

At the moment things are totally off the scale crazy, so I'm not sure there's any point writing, but normally I would write and then keep sending it once a week until I got a reply! I wouldn't be ignored, that's for sure.

I also email my MP fairly regularly but do it now out of a sense of duty. I want to live in a better caring world and know they don't care.

It doesn't matter what I'm writing about I get a cut and paste answer.
Often I reply asking for an "actual" answer. I'm always polite. Sometimes I get a different cut and paste answer...

It is deeply frustrating and an exercise in madness that I'm unable to stop. I feel compelled to do it after years of activism.
It is pointless and always makes me cross. Sadly.

Chestnut - mine responds but it's never a reply

Well me too NotSpaghetti it's just their assistant cutting and pasting, but better than being ignored. You could always send a reply to the reply, and keep doing that. They will have to send something back each time and can't keep sending the same thing. I can understand it's not possible for the MP to send a personal reply to everyone as it would take up all their time.

I email my MP on issues local and national. If he replies, it tends to be an anodyne sound bite, rather than a considered response. I suspect that I'm not on his Christmas card list !

Chestnut I'm afraid I do often reply to the replies but I have to admit it is usually done through gritted teeth (if that's actually possible ).

Chestnut - maybe I need to see up a bank of cut-and-paste responses??

*set up (not see up!)

Oldwoman70

Except of course in the majority of cases the emails are not read or answered by the MP but by an assistant

That's true and I think our MP's previous excellent assistant may have left, more's the pity.

Sometimes my MP used to investigate queries, find out an answer from the Minister concerned and write back a very detailed letter.
I'm not so sure that concerns get passed on now.

I know mine does care and I know what her politics are as a party member broadly speaking so only write to bring a particular local issue to her attention in an area I know a lot about.
Obviously I'm saying she's in the opposition atm but if she were in government then it would be different. Ie I would lay in and criticise something my own party did if I disagreed.

and it is worth it.

Imagine if no-one ever contacted their MP's? Leaving them to do what they want checked? Ever? However, these days there are other and maybe additional and sometimes more effective ways to expose PM's who do nothing for their constituents, never listen, via social media not letters to them.

Right now there is some value in totally flooding conservative MP's with concerns about the desperate situation in NHS, benefits, care services and so on and how unhappy you are - examples etc because those MP's worried about their seats could just respond by pressurising for change at the top.

I agree with Wyllow3 - this is a moment when Conservative MPs are having to think hard about what to do, who to support, what matters for the country - and lots of emails from constituents could make a difference. There are few certainties in life - but its worth doing things which have a chance of making the world a better place anyway.

I’m lucky, my MP always answers my mail - sometimes by post or sometimes an e-mail. Always clear that he has read my post by his detailed reply. I only mail if I feel very strongly about a subject, as I think that you can overdo it. He is a labour MP.

I did mail my nearest Tory mp when I was very cross about Johnson’s behaviour, and got a reply as well. So a point for both.

I agree with what you say applegran, I wrote so much to my MP (not who I vote for, but we are in a ‘safe’ seat) that it became a family joke and sometimes had up to 3 replies in a week! Many of them though as others have said are standard party line responses leading me to write (well email) her again to tell her I wouldn’t be writing to her again because of this, to which she responded!
I have since broken this pledge and emailed her a couple of times.
Like you, I also subscribe and donate to organisations that work towards making the world a better place for all. I started doing this after the Brexit fiasco, as I was left feeling so frustrated at the state of our politics. It felt like one of the few things I still had control over amongst all the madness.

I used to turn up on demonstrations etc but just aren't well enough for that - but we all still have the power to TRY and make a difference.

when you feel "whats the point", think this - how would things be if we all just gave up and no one tried to call people to account? Its unthinkable, isn't it - so koko dear friends.