Invite a local politician to your Putting Feet First campaign event: Template Letter

For local groups hosting a Diabetes UK campaign event, getting a local MP to attend can make the event even more successful. MPs can learn about what our campaigns are trying to achieve and work with other local bodies to make sure the campaign is successful in your area.

If your MP does agree to attend, please do let us know. Diabetes UK staff will then be able to offer support in terms of working with your MP and potentially getting local media attention.

If you are living in Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales you can also contact your MSP, MLA or AM. Most aspects of health and education policy are now the responsibility of the devolved national Parliaments and Assemblies, so they will be in the best position to make change happen.

How to contact your political representatives

Politicians often receive literally hundreds of emails every day, so it is best to keep your letter straight to the point. Priority will always be given to letters from constituents too, so make sure you are writing to your representative.To find out the name of your representative and their contact details, please check: or contact us on .

You can use the template invitation letter on the next page to contact your political representative. Although you should keep it short, adding any personal detail will also make your political representative more likely to respond.

Please edit the template letter on the next page. Remember to fill in all the parts [IN BOLD AND IN BRACKETS] with the relevant details before sending.

What to ask of your political representatives

If your MP or another political figure agrees to attend your event – great! There number of things you can ask them to do in follow-up to help support Putting Feet First too:

  • Promote the campaign and campaign materials using their social media accounts. Perhaps get a picture of your group with the politician and some campaign materials.
  • Write to the local hospital about inpatient foot care, asking them to pledge to increase the number of people receiving foot checks.
  • Write to local GP surgeries asking them to share our ‘What to expect at your annual foot check’ leaflet to make sure everyone with diabetes gets a good quality annual foot check.
  • Ask relevant Ministers about their plans to reduce amputations

If you would like further suggestions on how your MP can get involved, speak with your regional or national Diabetes UK office.

Dear [POLITICANS NAME],

Diabetes UK [YOUR GROUP NAME] will be hosting an event in support of the Diabetes UK campaign Putting Feet First. This UK-wide campaignaims to dramatically reduce the number of diabetes-related amputations suffered across the UK by improving diabetes foot care services.

We would be extremely grateful if you could attend and listen to your constituents’ concerns about diabetes foot care services in our area.

Please let us know as soon as you can if you are able to attend. The full details of where and when are below:

Time: [XXXXX]

Date: [XXXX]

Venue: [XXXX]

The event will be open to the public so please do advise interested constituents to come along and promote the event if you can. Local media may also be in attendance.

To find out more about the Putting Feet First campaign, you can visit the campaign page on the Diabetes UK website:

Many thanks,

[YOUR LOCAL GROUP NAME]

[CONTACT DETAILS OF A SENIOR GROUP MEMBER-IDEALLY A CONSTITUENT OF THE MP YOU ARE WRITING TO]