Firearms consultation: Why contacting your MP matters

BASC is urging more people to write to their MP while we await a consultation on changes to shotgun licensing rules.

Last week we issued further guidance on writing to MPs and thank you to everyone that has acted on that. Please forward any responses by email to politics@basc.org.uk.

Since government plans for a consultation on merging shotgun and firearms licensing systems were announced in February, BASC’s political team has been raising awareness and support with MPs and Peers about the damaging impact such proposals would have on shooting if implemented.

Writing to your own MP and encouraging them to take the matter up prompts them to write or talk to Home Office ministers. That added pressure raises the profile of the issue and makes it harder for ministers to ignore. It is one of the most effective ways to drive action.

The value of MP responses

Knowing what individual MPs are saying in their responses to constituents really helps inform and strengthen our influence so please keep them coming in. We have been successfully following up many responses with meeting requests.

Please don’t be disheartened if you get what looks like a stock response from your MP. That means that the political party policy unit has had sufficient volumes of emails and letters to advise MP offices on their response.

Those stock messages are evolving as political pressure increases and it’s important for us to see and spot changes in positioning.

However, don’t just leave it at that. Reply to your MP’s letter with one or two points asking for the MP’s own view. Persistence pays off and some MPs will go further and act on our collective concerns.

If you have not had a chance to contact your MP yet please read our guidance here on how to do so and some pointers on what to say.

Real life examples

We want to highlight and thank two MPs that have publicly aired their concerns.

MP for Ely and East Cambridgeshire, Charlotte Cane, has written to the Policing Minister, Sarah Jones, stating: “the proposed changes would place an undue administrative burden on firearms licensing units and licence holders…and would also require a huge increase in licensing bureaucracy.”

MP for Mid Norfolk George Freeman has urged a government rethink stating: “Having grown up on a local family farm—beating and shooting on our family shoot—and as a long-standing BASC member and strong supporter of country sports, I am fully aligned with BASC in opposing any proposal to merge the shotgun and firearms licensing systems. I am actively working with BASC on this issue.”

There are 650 MPs. Please don’t leave the heavy lifting to others.

The shooting organisations are united in the fight for shooting and we need tens of thousands more emails and letters to MPs before the New Year.

Please consider putting aside an hour over the Christmas holidays to write an email or put pen to paper in your own words. That would be a great gift to shooting.