What is a Member of Parliament?

A group of MPs with their rosettes to show which party they represent.

A Member of Parliament is sometimes called an MP.

A man standing by a voting booth with 18+ beside him.

In England, if you are 18 years old or over, you can vote for a person to be an MP for the area where you live.

A male at a voting booth with 16 plus written beside it.

The government is changing the law so that 16 year olds and over will be able to vote in the future.

Two teenagers with a map behind them which has Scotland and Wales highlighted. Beside them are the numbers 16 and 17.

In Scotland and Wales you can vote in some elections at 16 and 17 years old.

Some people at voting booths. Behind the booths is a map of the UK with Northern Ireland highlighted and 18+ above the people.

In Northern Ireland you can vote if you are 18 years old or over.

A map with a shaded area which has a face of a woman in the shaded area.

What do MPs do?

MPs speak up for people in their constituency.

A constituency is the area where the person was voted to be the MP for.

MPs also work in Parliament.

A man holding a tablet with an easy read on the screen

For more information about Parliament, go to our Parliament easy read page.

A man working at a laptop. Behind him is a plus sign and some folders.

Sometimes, MPs do extra work in Parliament.

A group of people are sat around a table talking

For example they might be part of a group called a Select Committee, or an All Party Parliamentary Group.

A man in a suit with his arm outstretched for a handshake.

Or they might be a Minister.

There are 2 types of Minister:

Secretary of State. A Secretary of State is in charge of a department like the Department of Work and Pensions.

Minister. A Minister is in charge of 1 or a few areas of work of a Department. In the Department of Work and Pensions there are Ministers for Employment , Skills and Social Security and Disability.

A person is in central London holding a checklist

When should I contact my MP?

MPs can help people with lots of different things.

A hospital, a block of flats and Universal Credit.

For example, you might want to contact your MP if you are having problems with things like:

hospitals and the NHS
benefits, pensions and national insurance
immigration
schools
transport
housing
social care .

A woman sitting at a laptop. Behind her is a circle with a red exclamation mark and a hospital in it.

If your MP is not able to do anything about the service , they can let your council know you are having a problem.

A map called my area which shows different places like a library, college and post office.

You could also contact your MP to let them know about a problem in your area.

A group of people holding up signs for change and another person is shouting through a megaphone

Or ask your MP to support a campaign you feel strongly about.

An open laptop showing a website home page

Who is my MP?

You can find your MP by going to the UK Parliament website.

A man at a laptop. On the screen is an envelope with the postcode circled and a search bar.

You will need to type in the name of the town where you live or your postcode.

A phone, an email and someone writing on an envelope.

If you click on the name of your MP, you can find out the different ways to contact them.

A man pointing to himself with an information sign behind him.

You can also find out information like:

How long have they been an MP?
What political party are they part of?
How many people voted for them in the last election.
The things have they voted on in Parliament and how they voted.
Questions they have asked in Parliament.

A picture of a woman taking a book off a book shelf which is full of other books

You might also be able to find out the contact details of your MP at your local library.

3 people sitting in a row, each with a microphone.

How does Mencap work with MPs?

Mencap works with MPs to help make changes to laws that make a difference to people with a learning disability .

A woman with her hand up and a speech bubble with a question mark in it.

We support MPs to ask questions in the House of Commons.

Two women sitting facing each other. One woman is talking, the other one is listening.

We support people with a learning disability to make contact with their MP to let them know what life is like with a learning disability and how they can help make things better.