2024 – Contact your newly-elected MP about the “Restore the Peoples NHS” Campaign

The newly-formed Labour Government highlights the need for “an NHS fit for the future” and, here at KONPNE , we believe that fundamental to this aspiration is the requirement to return to a publicly-funded and publicly-provided healthcare system.
Over the next few months, we encourage all supporters to make an appointment to meet with your MP at your Constituency surgery, or via Zoom, to discuss some of the issues central to the “Restore the Peoples NHS” Campaign.  This can be as straight-forward (or as complex) as you wish – but we recommend the former for a first meeting, and it may be good to choose one or two central themes to highlight.  Remember you don’t need to be an NHS expert – it is more important to speak from the heart. Much information is in the “Restore the Peoples NHS” pamphlet – all will be very familiar – in short, the key themes of the “Restore” campaign are
A publicly provided NHS: End private involvement  |   An NHS funded to succeed – not defunded to fail  |   Respect, recognition and decent pay & conditions for all health workers  |  Re-invest in public health & tackle health inequalities  |   Rebuild, restore and expand our NHS
Please go ahead and contact your MP directly by email – you will find the email address here – and then please let us know that you have made this contact and, afterwards, let us know how the meeting went. 
Resources:
***At the meeting, please provide a copy of the 40 page “Restore the Peoples NHS” pamphlet to your MP – or post it, or send links, if meeting by Zoom.  You can order copies from the national KONP office by clicking here  (be sure to order the pamphlet and not the leaflet) or contact KONPNE at konpnortheast@gmail.com (we have some copies available).    An online version of the pamphlet is here
***the “Peoples NHS” petition is here
***the views of North East residents regarding local health service provision – this information was provided to KONPNE at  campaign stalls over a six month period  from March 2024, and highlights local concerns. Click here to see the report and please print out and provide a copy of this to your MP.
***An excellent article from John Lister  “Learning the right lessons to rescue our struggling NHS”  is here    This is a recent article (15th August 2024) which first appeared in Labour Outlook – it is clear, direct, and does not hold back in spelling out what is needed…a clear message for all Labour MPs in the NE.  Please print out and provide to your MP.
Maybe a combination of the pamphlet, the feedback and the article would be enough to provide (or send) at a meeting?  More can be sent later, as we need to keep the information flowing and the pressure on.  The key thing is to make your voice heard and to strive towards establishing an information-giving relationship.
When?
Why not send an email to request a meeting now? Some individual members of KONPNE have already written to some MPs – and the more people are writing and meeting, the better…    No problem if your MP has already met with someone else about this – the more meetings, the better…..               A sample initial email is here – but please personalise it!
And if there is no meeting or no response….
Send a reminder email and, if there is still no response, send an email which provides links to the above pamphlet, feedback and article   
If you’re not interested in meeting your MP….
Arranging a meeting with your MP is not to everyones liking, and if you would rather write and attach / enclose the above information from the start, then that is, of course, absolutely fine. Email addresses are on the links above; alternatively MPs constituency office addresses can be found online.
and whatever happens…..
please keep us updated at konpnortheast@gmail.com

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5th July 2024:  Post Election Statement

 

CLICK HERE

for the statement from Keep Our NHS Public 

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Writing to the House of Commons

How many times do you email your MP each year?   Once?  Twice?   More often?
S/he is your representative, and it is crucial that you get your points across….
There are 27 MPs in the North East (26 Labour and 1 Conservative) and one of these is YOUR representative. Please write now, asking him / her to stand up for the NHS.
Please check out our Action page here for details about our current campaigns and include these in your email, ask for a pledge of support, add specific questions, mention that you are a supporter of KONPNE, provide your name and address, specifically request a reply and copy us in (konpnortheast@gmail.com)….
It is very straightforward – and CRUCIAL that your voice is heard.
Consider spending 15 minutes, twice per year, in emailing your MP – working together, we can make a difference.
There is a list of local MP email addresses on the direct link here and the same is on our website Links page here; alternatively, you can find the name and email address of your MP by entering your postcode here.

 

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Writing to the House of Lords

When writing about a Bill, it is useful to note that there are around 188 cross-bench peers who sit in the Lords – targeting this group to gain their support for crucial amendments is often a good strategy. These peers are not aligned to a specific political party.
DOs – 
Be respectful regardless of your feelings about the House of Lords or peers.
Speak from your personal experience and from beliefs that most people would hold (not solely from left-wing ideology).
Keep your email short and warm – praise whatever good work they have done and draw on any association you may have with where they are from.
DON’Ts – 
Don’t be conspiratorial and don’t be overly critical or blaming of politicians, NHS leaders or businesses – it gives them a reason to ignore you.
Don’t relate to them as though they are your representatives, but as though they are good-faith people who have a responsibility to do the right thing.
Write a short and warm email to a number of peers by following the following steps –
a – Clarify the Bill or issue that you are writing about. Also, tell them that your email is not part of any mass emailing, but your personal email to them because you care about this issue.
b –  Inform them why this issue is important to you (eg: very briefly, in one or two short sentences, describe your or your family NHS treatment or eg your work in the NHS)
c – Tell them why you think they will do the right thing. Do a quick google search on your peer, and identify one or two of his / her interests. Alternatively, click on   https://www.theyworkforyou.com/ to find one good thing about your peer.  Adding something positive allows them to feel like they’re appreciated (NB Do not spend long researching this – a cursory mention is all that is needed to personalise the email a little  eg: “I am aware that you are a very well known member of the Lords, and that you have experience in and have demonstrated your interest in educational, environmental and health matters. I know that you speak out on a range of important key issues, and I am sure that you agree that the future of the NHS is a key and fundamental issue for us all”. )
d – If appropriate, provide specific information on the Amendment number, or how you wish for them to vote
e – Thank the Peer, tell them that you hope to hear from them soon, and sign off
f – If available, enclose a briefing document
g – Hit send….. and job done    **Please note two technicalities: please send your emails separately (the House of Lords email system blocks mass mailings of over 6) and if your Peer(s) has a generic House of Lords email address (contactholmember@parliament.uk), then please add FAO (and then name your Peer) in the subject box of your email.
h – email us at konpnortheast@gmail.com – let us know about your contact, and the response from the Peer
Click here to read the article from Green Peer Natalie Bennett re the Parliamentary process and hints on writing to the Lords
KONPNE are grateful to Johnbosco Nwogbo at the national campaign group “We Own It” for guidance on the email content – this is much appreciated.  More about the “We Own It” organisation is here

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Register of Members’ Financial Interests

The main purpose of the Register is to provide information about any financial interest which a MP has, or any benefit which he or she receives, which others might reasonably consider to influence his or her actions or words as a Member of Parliament. Click here to read.

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Donations and loans to regulated individuals

For information from the Electoral Commission regarding donations and loans, click here

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