General Instructions
First of all, find your local MP, and start writing a letter to them using this platform. You just need to put in your postcode, and the website will track whether your MP answered to you or not.
The most important is that your letter contains your full address in it, so your MP knows you are in their constituency. Put in your letter specific reasons to why this is affecting you, your constituency, the UK, and why your MP should care. Avoid vague or opinionated generalities.
I propose below a template that contains important links and informations to share with your MP and which you can adapt to your specific situation.
Template
EMAIL TITLE: Save fundamental physics research in the UK
Dear MP NAME OF MP,
I am writing to you as a constituent and as a [Job Title] at [Name of University/Institute] to oppose the recent cuts that are being projected by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to scientific research in particle physics, astronomy, and nuclear (PPAN) science, recently highlighted in a BBC News article https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czr0zmzzp84o.
These fields are not only central to fundamental research, but also play a key role in supporting innovation, high-value skills, and economic growth across the UK. Scientists trained in PPAN contribute widely to sectors such as healthcare, data science, engineering, and advanced technologies. An open letter was recently signed by more than a hundred professionals now working outside academia, highlighting how PPAN research underpins real-world applications and innovation across multiple sectors: https://industry-openletter-stfc.github.io/index.html. The fact that these concerns are being raised by individuals working in industry—rather than solely within academia—underlines the broader impact of these fields on the UK economy and society.
I thus wanted to draw your attention to a cross-party letter currently circulating among Members of Parliament, initiated by Peter Lamb MP, regarding the future of the PPAN research programme. Researchers across many UK universities are writing to their MPs to raise awareness of this issue, and I would welcome your support to this letter. The letter calls on the Government, DSIT, and UKRI to consider measures that would stabilise the situation in the short term and to engage with the scientific community on longer-term governance solutions that protect the UK’s national research capacity in these strategically important fields.
If you would be willing to support this initiative, MPs who wish to add their name to the letter are invited to contact Peter Lamb MP’s office directly at peter.lamb.mp@parliament.uk.
Without political pressure, there is a real risk that this letter does not receive the sustained attention it warrants, while the damage to careers and to the UK’s research capabilities continues. I am therefore asking you to bring this issue to the foreground: to raise it in Parliament, to press ministers and UKRI for a clear public response, and to ensure that the loss of a generation of scientists is treated as an urgent policy failure.
This matters locally as well as nationally and internationally. [constituency specific details: impact on local universities, schools, etc...]
I would be grateful if you could let me know what steps you are able to take to ensure that this letter receives the serious political attention it deserves.
Yours sincerely,
YOUR NAME
YOUR ADDRESS WITH POSTCODE - VITALLY IMPORTANT TO PUT THIS OR YOUR MP WILL NOT REPLY/PROCESS YOUR LETTER