My friend Tom sent me an email suggesting I send the template below to the 11 Tory members of parliament who are sponsoring a bill that jeopardises the minimum wage:

Dear ________,

I am very concerned to hear about the Private Members Bill, Employment Opportunities, down for its second reading on Friday 10th June, that will seek to abolish the mandatory national minimum wage.

You are listed as one of the Bill’s sponsors.

The national minimum wage has benefitted more than a million people since it was introduced and your Bill would effectively undermine it by allowing unscrupulous bosses to pay what they like.

Please could you let me know as a matter of urgency whether you still plan to support this Bill and if so, why you back it. I am respectfully asking you to withdraw your backing.

Could you also let me know whether you believe it is right for paid MPs to call for the minimum wage to be effectively abolished whilst holding second jobs themselves as many of the Bill’s sponsors do.

Amongst others, I sent it to one Philip Davies, MP for Shipley in Yorkshire. This is his reply:

Dear Mr West

Thank you for being one of the people to have sent me exactly the same email regarding the Employment Opportunities Bill.

I am delighted that you are so interested in a Private Members Bill which has no chance of becoming law!

I represent the people of the Shipley constituency in Parliament, and I am extremely happy to set out my views on this Bill, and the Minimum Wage more widely, to my constituents including by sending them an article I have written on this issue which I have sent out to a number of my constituents who have contacted me. If you are a constituent of mine please email me with your full postal address and I will happily send you a copy of this article. If you are not a constituent of mine can I suggest that you make your views known to your own MP and encourage them to come to Parliament to debate this issue on the 10th June to represent your views.

Thank you for taking the time to email me.

Best wishes

Philip Davies MP

This is my reply:

Dear Mr Davies,

Thank you for replying to my exact same email. I would hope the phrasing of concerns about bills - regardless of their chances of becoming law - would be of less interest to members of parliament than the actual worries expressed within. I would hope that members of parliament respond to the issues raised rather than than the grammatical merits of the letter or email, as I had assumed that parliamentarians were more interested in issues than literary form.

I am disappointed that members seem to not only want to reduce a minimum wage upon which it is virtually impossible to live (I should know, I currently do so and attempt to pay my way through university with it too) but to ignore the concerns of voters who email them.

Unfortunately I am not a consituent of yours so will not have access to your article, but rest assured I have informed my MP of my concerns prior to emailing yourself.

Regards,

Mark

This is his reply back:

Dear Mark

Thanks for your email.

I would be happy to debate and engage in this issue but that is very difficult when so many people just send out a prepared email.

It is the strength of the arguments that affect my views not the number of copycat emails I receive.

I understand and respect your views on this.

Best wishes

Philip

An interesting view on our next government. God help us!

UPDATE: More!

Dear Mark

Thanks for your email.

I would be happy to debate and engage in this issue but that is very difficult when so many people just send out a prepared email.

It is the strength of the arguments that affect my views not the number of copycat emails I receive.

I understand and respect your views on this.

Best wishes

Philip

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Dear Philip,

Am I correct in taking from your last email, then, that were I to rephrase my previous email then it would have more chance of being engaged with?

I would suggest the strongest argument would be a week or two spent (attempting) to live on the minimum wage.

Regards,

Mark