Writing to the House of Lords

Members of the House of Lords are not elected. Most are appointed, with others sitting by virtue of church office. They still vote on, debate and amend the laws that affect us all.

Unlike an MP, a Lord doesn’t represent a particular constituency, so anyone in the UK can write to any Lord. You might choose to contact one when:

  • a Lord is closely involved with an issue you care about, or has spoken publicly on it;
  • a Bill on that issue has moved from the House of Commons to the Lords for debate, amendment or approval, where persuading a Lord could make a real difference to the outcome;
  • your own MP holds views very different from yours, and approaching a Lord may be a better way to influence policy; or
  • you simply want to ask a Lord what they do, or what they think about a particular subject.

You can reach any Lord through our Write to a Lord section.

Which Lord should I write to?

Because any Lord can be contacted by anyone, there’s no postcode lookup to match you to one particular person. Instead, our Write to a Lord section helps you choose in a few ways:

  • By interest — enter a topic as a word or phrase, and we’ll list the Lords who have mentioned it most often in Parliament. If your issue is tied to a place, you can also find a Lord with an association to that location.

  • At random — for a topic of general interest, the ‘Random Lord’ button picks a Lord for you, and ‘Find a Lord who shares my birthday’ does just that.

You don’t have to write to the first Lord on the list. Follow the links to read a little about what each has said, and choose the one who fits best. It’s usually worth avoiding government ministers, whose positions are harder to influence.

Why do I need a UK postcode to write to a Lord?

Lords sit in the UK Parliament and vote on UK law, so — just as we only let people contact their own MP — we don’t allow people outside the UK to contact Lords.

Please use the same postcode you would use to contact your MP. If you’re not sure which to use — for example, if you’re in the armed forces — see ‘What postcode should I use?’.

Do you have every Lord’s email address?

Not every Lord has an individual email address, and most don’t have offices. Where we don’t hold a personal address, we send your message to the central House of Lords email address, and the House’s internal mail system passes it on to your chosen Lord.

If you’re a Lord yourself and would prefer to receive messages directly, please contact us.

How many Lords can I write to?

The Parliament website explains the different ways to contact Lords, including the limits on sending messages to many of them at once.

We don’t allow duplicate messages. Please don’t ask people to copy and paste a pre-written letter, either — encourage them to write in their own words. Our guidelines for campaigning explain why this matters.

Will a Lord reply to my message?

Lords aren’t obliged to respond. Unlike MPs, they have no constituents to answer to, and no election to prepare for.

Even so, a considered, well-argued letter stands a far better chance of a reply than a hurried one — most politicians, after all, are trying to do their best.