The Objective: Get your MP interested in money creation!

Most MPs will not be aware of the fact that money is created by private banks. Even many professional economists do not fully understand the way in which the banking sector operates, or how banks receive massive subsidies and benefits as a result of the way they do business. In fact, if you’ve watched the 3 minute video A simple solution to the debt crisis then you will already understand more than the majority of MPs and economists currently do.

So this is what we would like every MP to do first:

1. Watch the 3-minute video: What is money? (To download – Right click here and choose ‘save target as…’)
2. Read the quotes from the Bank of England, which confirm that high-street banks now create most of the money in the economy.
3. Reply to you to confirm that they are aware of the issue.

How to contact your MP

Identify your MP by typing in your postcode at the TheyWorkForYou website.

1. Meet them in person (most effective!)
2. Write a letter (quite effective)
3. Send an personalised email (slightly less effective than a posted letter)

Meet Your MP in Person 

As a citizen of the UK you have a right to meet your MP in person. Most MPs hold ‘constituency surgeries’ at least once a month, usually on a Friday.

Here’s a step-by-step process for meeting your MP:

1. Give the constituency office a call to request an appointment at the next MP’s surgery. Make sure you get the details for when and where the surgery will be, what time your appointment is, and how long your meeting is (10 minutes is typical).
2. When you have an appointment, send us an email to let us know. We’re happy to call you before the meeting to talk through any questions and concerns that you may have.
3. Prepare a rough outline of what you want to say. You don’t need to prepare too much (as you will only have a short time with them) and you don’t need to be an expert on all the issues.

Some ideas for the meeting:

1. Take your laptop, and play them the ‘Why Do Banks Create So Much Money’ video (download the video here so that you don’t need to find an internet connection)
2. Give them the handout ‘Do Banks Really Create Money (Download)‘. This handout includes quotes from the Bank of England and from respected economist such as Martin Wolf of the Financial Times.
3. Explain that in 1844 the government made it illegal for high street banks to print £5 and £10 notes, and that ever since then, the Treasury has got the profit on creating paper money (£18.5 billion in the last 10 years alone). Explain that because the law has never been updated to account for electronic money, we’re losing hundreds of billions of government revenue AND paying hundreds of billions in extra tax as a result.

Writing  to Your MP

Meeting your MP in person is by far the most effective thing to do, but if you can’t do that, then a letter, written and posted to your MP, can be quite effective.

1. Write your letter following the guidelines below and template letter, and then send it to your MP.
2. Please let us know when you receive a response, and if you can, send us a photocopy or scan via email to info@positivemoney.org.

Email  your MP

Follow all the advice given under ‘Writing to Your MP’ above and the templates below, but send it via email rather than letter. You can find your MP’s email address by entering your postcode on this page.

1. Write your email following the guidelines below and template letter and then send it to your MP.
2. Please let us know when you receive a response, and send a copy to info@positivemoney.org.

Guidelines for Letters/Emails

Be polite! Don’t be rude, don’t shout and don’t insult the MP. Many MPs receive angry, ‘shouty’ letters from constituents, but if you start by insulting your MP, he’s unlikely to want to help you.

Don’t be over dramatic: Stay calm and rational. Consider these words of advice from an MP who actually does understand the issue:

Keep it short

Don’t tell them you’ll never vote for them again: if you already said you’ll never vote for them, then why would they want to spend time and energy listening to you?

Don’t rant about their party’s policies, track records. Just stick to the point.