Stand Up for Education
Lobby of Parliament
10th June 2014
Getting the most from the Lobby
As their constituents, individual citizens have the right to request meetings with their Members of Parliament simply by turning up when the House is sitting. For perfectly legitimate reasons, not all MPs will be available at all times. You are strongly encouraged to contact your MP before the day of the lobby and try and arrange to meet them at a pre-arranged time on Tuesday 10th June. If you don’t, you can still try to meet them on the day under the ‘green card’ system (which is explained below).
While an MP might legitimately prioritise meetings with their own constituents, MPs are usually willing to meet teachers who might not live locally but who work in schools in their constituency and to listen to their representations.
Things to do before the day of the lobby
· Contact your MP: Please get in touch with your MP as soon as possible and ask to meet them on Tuesday 10th June. A model email to your MP is available at xxxxxxx
· Download materials: These include a prompt and feedback form that you may find helpful in meeting with your MP and can be found on xxxxxxx
· Disabled people: Despite some improvements in recent years disabled access and facilities at the Palace of Westminster are rather limited. Please contact Liz Love on prior to the day of the lobby so that any necessary access arrangements can be organised on your behalf.
On the day of the Lobby
The Emmanuel Centre in Westminster has been booked as a base at which lobbyists can gather, pick up lobby materials and take part in a photo opportunity. The Centre will be open from 9.30 until 16.00 and is located at 9-23 Marsham Street, London SW1P 3DW. A map and directions are available at:
http://www.emmanuelcentre.com/emmanuelcentre-find-us-map.pdf
The group photo opportunity will take place at approximately 11.00.
Upon leaving the Emmanuel Centre, it is a five minute walk to the Parliamentary estate. A map of Parliament can be found here:
http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/faxmap.pdf
Getting into Parliament
All of those attending will need to be screened by Houses of Parliament security. There is a dedicated entrance for visitors just off Parliament Square (this is Cromwell Green entrance, number 7 on the map linked above).
You should give at least 30 minutes to get through security but please bear in mind that we expect a large turnout of people who want to lobby their MPs – there may be a longer wait.
If you have a pre-arranged meeting with your MP you may be meeting them in Portcullis House. The Portcullis House entrance on Victoria Embankment is usually less busy than the Cromwell Green entrance (number 4 on map).
You will be ushered towards security, where bags and coats will be put through a scanner and you could be required to undergo a routine body search by the security personnel.
After you have been through the metal detector, you will have your photo taken for a personalised security pass that you must wear around your neck. You must wear this for the duration of your time in Parliament. If you leave Parliament at any time during your visit, you will have to give up your pass and to gain entry again you will be required to queue at the main entrance and obtain another.
You must put all metal items through the scanner so it is recommended that you place them in your bag or coat in advance of your arrival.
Please note the following guidance:
o Searches, similar to those used in airports, will be conducted on entry.
o No banners, placards or overt political slogans will be allowed into Parliament.
o Mobile phones must be turned off.
o Cameras cannot be used, except in Westminster Hall.
o Personal defence equipment is not permitted. You are advised not to bring bladed items of any kind into Parliament.
o Bags or luggage larger than those permitted in aircraft cabins may be refused entry. Parliament has no facilities for leaving items; commercial outlets are available nearby at Victoria and Charing Cross stations.
Pre-arranged meetings with MPs
You are strongly advised to contact your MP as soon as possible telling them about the lobby and asking to meet on Tuesday 10th June. If you have arranged a time to meet your MP, you do not have to join the lobby queue but you should allow up to 20 minutes to get through the security queue at Portcullis House (number 4 on map). Please allow at least half-an-hour if you are meeting your MP in Central Lobby and have been asked to use the Cromwell Green Entrance (number 7 on map).
Committee Room 14 in the Palace of Westminster has been booked by Ian Mearns MP from 10.00 to 16.00 so that MPs can use it to meet with lobbyists if their offices are not suitable.
If you have arranged earlier to meet your MP at a specific time, enter the House of Commons and say that you have arrived to see your MP. Bring written confirmation of your meeting. Westminster staff at the information desk in either Portcullis House or in Central Lobby will call for your MP to come and see you at the arranged time.
Lobbying your MP using the ‘green card’ system
On a Tuesday the House of Commons sits from 11.30 to 19.30 which is when you are allowed to drop by and see your MP (i.e. lobby your MP). Lobbyists without a pre-arranged appointment with their MP are advised to join the queue outside the Commons from 11.00 onwards. The airport-style security system is very tight and due to evacuation procedures/fire regulations police will allow no more than 100 people into the Central Lobby at any one time. The queue may be very long.
When you get to Central Lobby in the House of Commons you should go to the desk on the left and ask for a “green card” to let your MP know you are there.
They will ask you for your name, contacts details and what you would like to see your MP about. On this occasion it is to “seek your help in persuading the Government to listen to teachers and parents; to encourage schools to collaborate rather than compete; to employ qualified not unqualified teachers; and to allow proper planning for school places and curriculum reform”. If you do not meet with your MP, the card is then sent on to the MP’s office.
The desk staff will take the card and attendants will then seek the MP in the Chamber and other committee rooms. You will wait in Central Lobby. If your MP has been found and has arrived your name will be called out. If you do not know what your MP looks like, you might have to listen out for your name. You may find that Central Lobby can be quite noisy and crowded.
When your MP arrives, express your appreciation for the meeting. Your MP may have somewhere in mind for your discussion, if not, suggest that you use Committee Room 14. Leaving Central Lobby will allow other lobbyists in to see their MPs and will make the conversation more comfortable.
If MPs do not appear within 30 minutes of the green card going in, it is unlikely that they will come at all. Sometimes they will send their staff on their behalf if they are caught up in other meetings. You must decide how long you can wait but remember for every lobbyist that leaves, the police will allow another one into Central Lobby.
If your MP is not available, you should not wait for the MP to write to you but send them a polite letter saying that you came to the Lobby but as it was not possible to meet on that day you would like to arrange to see them at another time in the constituency.
During the meeting with your MP
Be clear about your purpose in meeting them. Explain to your MP exactly what it is that you want them to do.
Six Steps for the Lobby
· Thank your MP for seeing you.
· Establish how much time you have.
· Make two or three key points related to the issues raised in the briefing paper (see website xxxxx). If you have direct experiences which may be helpful in adding weight to the arguments, then use them when putting forward your case. Don’t assume that your MP is not on your side – their party might be in Government but you never know what the individual MP will say. Put your case to them and give them a chance to do the same.
· Always give the MP something to take away – such as a copy of the briefing on the ten reasons we are lobbying about (downloaded from xxxxx)
· Make a note of their response to feedback to the lobby organisers. A feedback form can be downloaded from xxxx
· Make sure you ask them to take action – you want to know they are showing you support (for instance ask them visit your school, ask some PQs and/or to write to Michael Gove).
After the lobby
Please hand in your feedback form to a lobby steward in the Central Lobby or Committee Room 14 or please send it to .
You must leave the Central Lobby once your lobby is over otherwise the next group of members will not be able to gain access.
If you are in need of refreshment, the Jubilee Café, situated near the North Door of Westminster Hall, is open to members of the public.
Expenses
If Divisions/Associations have insufficient funds to pay the travel expenses of lobbyists, NUT Headquarters will pay for up to two lobbyists per parliamentary constituency. Claim forms with receipts should either be handed in on the day at the registration desk at the Emmanuel Centre or posted after the lobby to Liz Love, Strategy Department, NUT, Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, London, WC1H 9BD.
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