Read this before emailing your new MP!
In which the author offers some free advice to chew over before getting in touch with the Westminster intake of 2024.
To quote Frankie Valli, “Oh what a night!”
The 2024 General Election had everything. Big names like Jacob Rees-Mogg, Grant Shapps, and Penny Mordaunt lost their seats. We have a new Prime Minister with a huge majority. And, as Scottish Liberal Democrat boss Alex Cole-Hamilton predicted, there are now “more liberals than nationalists on the green benches of Westminster.” It’s a new day, indeed.
I enjoyed the General Election, which was also the first one I’ve ever stood in. Despite being far away from being elected, 1,150 of the good people of East Renfrewshire said they would like me to represent them, for which I’m most grateful. For a first-time candidate, it was very encouraging and it won’t be the last time I put myself forward.
On a professional level, I enjoyed campaigning in the Scottish Highlands to help return a great MP in Liberal Democrat Jamie Stone.
I was hired, through Alan Grant Communications, by the Scottish Liberal Democrats as press support for most of the election. Latterly, I also found myself in the Caithness, Sutherland, and Easter Ross constituency doing my bit on the doors and in the local office.
Happily, Jamie was elected with a majority of 10,489. Being part of his campaign, and the wider Scottish Liberal Democrat effort, was challenging, rewarding, and, most importantly, fun.
There will come a time to write up a case study, but my immediate impression was that it exemplified the kind of services my business can provide to clients. It was for a short time, required extensive experience in British politics, and the flexibility of a small agency.
If you find yourself at a busy moment; perhaps your firm is holding a conference, your organisation is suffering a slew of bad headlines, or you have a new research paper you want to promote to politicians in your area or across the country, Alan Grant Communications can help. We have the flexibility and customisation to slot into your team and the experience to operate at any level.
My approach is simple; you get what you want, without the added-on guff that you don’t need.
In the excellent Dark Knight, Heath Ledger’s iconic Joker says, “If you’re good at something, never do it for free.”
Of course, he’s not entirely right, he is a psychopathic killer clown and charity is to be applauded. And while this is a business and I’m therefore disinclined to give away what I’d normally charge for, I’m in a good enough mood to give away one tiny bit of advice in dealing with our new and returning MPs.
For more advice, you can go to www.alangrantcommunications.com and buy it.
So, that one free piece of advice?
Leave them alone for a bit.
The absolute worst way to introduce yourself to a new member of parliament would be to interrupt their justifiable hangover with an email demanding a meeting to talk about your niche issue. Short of turning up at their office armed with leaflets and calls for action, there’s no more definite way to get your future emails dumped straight into the deleted folder than that.
For some of these men and women, this will have represented the culmination of years of work, campaigning, and dedication, often alongside having a full-time job. While those who are coming back may well know who they are hiring and where they will be working from, many won’t. If you’re MP is newly elected, they will be in the process of sorting out an office, and staff and getting used to doing a high-profile job while also, essentially, being an employer in their own right. It’s a lot to handle and they will not be in a receptive place.
It may be difficult to wait, but wait you should.
The quality of engagement and attention you will receive if you pause your carefully planned engagement plan until they have their feet under their new desks will be worth the wait. If you give MPs time to get their heads around their new jobs, recover from campaigning, and get things sorted, they will be in a far better position to listen to you.
This isn’t to say that you should do nothing regarding our new cohort of MPs, far from it. A simple ‘hello’ message, laced with sincere congratulations and a contact for your organisation, would be welcome, but it shouldn’t come with anything resembling an ask or request. Also, it would be a very good idea to think about how you’re planning to engage with them when the time comes.
That time will, indeed, come. And when it does, it will be crucial to have solid, dependable, reliable, and creative advice on hand.
For that, minus the piles of paper and endless delay that others will burden you with, feel free to get in touch at alan@alangrantcommunications.com.