Your MP: raising their awareness

Like many other groups, MPs are not always aware that many grandchildren have their often-close relationship with their grandparent prevented, interrupted or terminated. And again like others, they may not be aware of the impacts of this on the grandchild. 

 

Various grandparent groups over the past 15-20 years vigorously campaigned for legal change to secure a grandparent's rights to contact with their grandchild. Despite senior ministerial promises for change, none were forthcoming.

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Here is a list of various Parliamentary debates and

information pages that your MP might find hellpful

 

In our discussions (and learning!) with those grandparent leaders, given the importance of the grandchild who has little or no voice, all are agreed that the grandchild must be the primary focus of any awareness-raising or campaign for change. The grandchild's interests are paramount. 

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Accordingly, alongside the work we are doing with those who directly support grandchildren and their families, we would like you to raise your MP's awareness of your grandchild's plight. Their disconnection, their loss, their unsupported grief, the impact of all this on their developmental needs and educational outcomes, their schools' unawareness of the issue and such impacts. The relative inexperience of family mediators and therapists - who are often the primary non-legal professionals involved in parent-grandparent difficulties. 

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As the UK is currently experiencing a children and young people's mental health crisis, it is even more important that your MP is aware that there are high numbers of grandchildren experiencing the ambiguous loss and grief that comes from preventable estranged or alienated disconnection.

 

​Each 6 weeks, we will ask you to write to your MP using the campaign briefings provided in our awareness-raising campaign pack. You can find your MP's email and correspondence details here. 

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We would also like you to send something similar to local schools to raise their awareness that based on our 2022 survey, they most likely have at least one child in each class trying to cope with the loss of their grandparent in their life and experiencing unsupported ambiguous grief.

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Please add your typology(ies) and some aspects of your own family story to the bullet points so that your MP can see how it affects you as their constituent and more importantly your grandchild. 

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Then either email or post this to your MP, or send via WriteToThem, an online MP contact tool.

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​Please sign up here asking for the MP awareness-raising pack. 

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Thank you. 

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