What is an MP?
Members of Parliament are elected to the House of Commons to represent the interests and concerns of all the people who live in their constituency, whether they voted for them at the General Election or not.
MPs are only able to deal with issues raised by people who live in their constituency. To check if you are one of the Newton Abbot constituency, please enter your postcode on the Parliament website .
What does an MP do?
MPs consider and vote on legislation and use their position to ask government ministers questions about current issues.
They split their time between working in Parliament and working in the constituency.
In Parliament, I spend my time fighting for the interests of all my constituents, attending debates, scrutinising and voting on legislation, and attending meetings. Back in the constituency, I holds advice surgeries for constituents (where they can come and talk to me about any local issues and problems), attend meetings and community events, and I also visits local organisations and businesses across the constituency.
What can my MP do to help me?
An MP can try to help you with all matters for which Parliament or central government is responsible, such as:
- HM Revenue and Customs Department (problems with tax or national insurance)
- Department for Work and Pensions (problems with benefits and pensions)
- Home Office (problems with immigration and passports)
- Department of Health (problems with hospitals and the National Health Service (NHS).
What an MP cannot do
An MP cannot:
- Intervene with legal matters or court cases, nor interfere with decisions previously made in court.
- Provide any financial or business advice.
- Assist in settling family arguments or private disputes with neighbours, employers or consumer matters.
- Have any jurisdiction over local Council decisions. I can write to the council on your behalf and ask them to look into a problem or to reconsider an issue. In the first instance though, constituents should contact their local council or councillor directly.
If your problem concerns the Local Government (Council), you should have exhausted the internal complaints procedure at the Council before you contact me. Find your local representative along with their responsibilities here: https://www.writetothem.com/
If you are unsure of who to go to or you have a problem of a more general nature, then please do email me or your nearest Citizens' Advice Bureau will be able to guide you.