Paddy Tipping - YOUR voice in Parliament

You and your MP

This section is designed to answer any questions you may have about the role of Paddy as your local Member of Parliament and how he can help you. See the Political Process page for some information on how Parliament and Government works.

What is an MP?

The UK public elects Members of Parliament (MPs) to represent their interests and concerns in the House of Commons.  MPs are involved in considering and proposing new laws, and can use their position to ask government ministers questions about current issues.

What is a Constituent?

The UK is divided into 646 different regions called constituencies, as a person who lives within or is eligible to vote in a constituency you are known as a constituent. The size of constituencies varies according to a number of factors but on average a constituency will contain approximately 67,000 electors.

Paddy gained the right to represent Sherwood Constituency by receiving more votes than any of the other candidates at the last general election. His job is to represent his or her constituents in Parliament, whether or not they voted for him.

You only have one MP so even if you voted for one of the other candidates and you disagree with the views of your MP's party, your MP is still there to help you with all matters for which Parliament or central government is responsible.

Generally Members will only deal with issues raised by their own constituents and not with issues raised by constituents of other Members. This is because the British parliamentary system is founded on the principle that one Member represents a single constituency, and that her or his relations with constituents are very much a preserve other Members should not interfere with.  Click here to check if Paddy is your local MP.

For more information about the work of MPs from the UK Parliament website  click here.

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What can my MP do to help me?

MPs are able to help with matters for which Parliament or central government is responsible. Problems often arise with work carried out by central government departments and your MP will be able to help you with areas such as:

  • Tax problems involving the Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise Departments
  • Problems dealt with by the Department of Health such as hospitals and the National Health Service
  • Problems dealt with by the Department for Work and Pensions such as benefits, pensions and national insurance
  • Problems dealt with by the Home Office such as immigration and matters such as school closures and grants which are dealt with by theDepartment for Education and Skills (but not day to day problems involving schools which are run by their governors and your local education authority)

Ways Paddy could potentially deal with problems of his constituents would be:

  • A letter to the relevant department or official.
  • A letter to the Minister involved.
  • Making an appointment to see the Minister personally.

Many problems (but not all) can be solved in this way. The Minister may not be able to give the answer you want to hear but if the decision has been made in the correct way there may be little that he can do. If you feel there has been unnecessary delay or maladministration Paddy may be able to take your case to the Parliamentary Ombudsman. The Ombudsman can only be approached via your MP; you cannot approach that office directly. The Health Service Ombudsman can provide similar help where the problem involves the NHS.

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What else can my MP do?

If Paddy is not satisfied with the answers he receives he may raise the issue in the House of Commons in front of the public and press. This can be done through:

Oral / written questions
Ministers answer questions from MPs at the Dispatch Box during Departmental Question Time but there is a limit to the number of questions that can be asked. Paddy may also table a written question to the relevant Government department, the answers to which are published in Hansard (Hansard (the Official Report) is the edited verbatim report of proceedings in both Houses).

Adjournment Debates
Paddy may be able to raise your problem in a half-hour Adjournment Debate which is usually the last business of the day, although to raise a matter, he must be successful in a ballot or have the subject chosen by the Speaker.

Westminster Hall Debates
A Westminster Hall debate is similar to an adjournment debate but does not take place in the main chamber but in a large committee room. The seating plan is a horseshoe arrangement and therefore less confrontational than the main chamber. A Deputy Speaker presides over proceedings and no votes take place.

Early Day Motions (EDM)
EDM’s are motions tabled by MPs for debate “on an early date” ie no date has been fixed.  Very few if any EDMs are actually debated, there is simply not enough time within Parliament but they can be useful for drawing attention to an issue and to gauge the support of fellow MPs by the number who sign them. Click here for the EDM Database to look up specific EDM's.


Private Member's Bill
If Paddy becomes aware that your problem is a common one he may try to introduce a Private Member's Bill which is a Bill put forward by an individual MP, as opposed to a Government Minister. Only a very small number of Private Member's Bills are successful and it is not something to be undertaken lightly, but publicity is drawn to the issue and the Minister may be persuaded to make changes in the future.

Petition
If you and other people feel very strongly about a certain issue you may decide to organise a petition to the House of Commons. Your petition can only be presented by Paddy as your MP and must be arranged in a particular format. You can obtain advice on petitions by writing to:

Clerk of Public Petitions
Journal Office
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA

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Other problems

Paddy is happy to support his constituents in any way he can with advice but he is unable to interfere with decisions made in court. As you can imagine with approximately 67,000 constituents Paddy is very busy so it is preferable if you have tried to resolve your problem yourself before you come to see Paddy so he can concentrate on the cases that most need his help or that individuals are finding hard to resolve.
  
If your problem concerns the Local Authority you should contact your local Councillor in the first instance, click below for a list of local Councillors:

Another good contact for many issues is the Citizens Advice Bureau
or Welfare Rights in Nottingham for benefit issues

Confidentiality of personal information

As a Member of Parliament Paddy and his staff operate within the provision of The Data Protection Act 1998  along with the Processing of Sensitive Personal Data (Electoral Representatives) Order 2002. SI 2002 No 2905.

Links

Here are some links which I hope you will find useful:

  • Register to Vote helps you register to vote and to find out about elections across the UK
  • Follow this link to Notts County Council website  to register for a postal vote, the site tells you how to contact your local council to register for your postal vote
  • The Co-operative Party is part of the global movement that provides vital health, housing and banking services; they promote education and gender equality; they protect the environment and workers' rights
  • The Fabian Society - the Society's programme aims to explore the political ideas and the policy reforms which will define progressive politics in the future.
  • TUC - a trade union representing over 6.5million working people

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