As part of our initiative Politics Alongside we have been encouraging people to invite their MP for a cup of Tea to help build relationships and shape more compassionate policies.

Over the past few months we have seen a number of MP’s come to meet with Poverty Truth Commissions in West Cheshire and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP).
West Cheshire PTC met with four of their MP’s; Sam Dixon MP, Justin Madders MP, Aphra Brandreth MP (pictured above) and Andrew Cooper MP, while BCP met with Jessica Toale MP. We’re happy to share some photos and words from each Commission about the meetings below.

West Cheshire PTC

Co-Chair of the Poverty Truth Advisory Board and Councillor Lisa Denson, Cheshire West and Chester Council’s Cabinet Member for A Fairer Future (Poverty, Public Health, and Mental Health), said: 

 ‘It has been wonderful to have had the opportunity to meet all the new and re-elected MPs from across the Borough. The pressures of the rising cost of living and hardship is an issue affecting many local residents and tackling inequalities within the Borough remains a focus of all of our work.  During our informal conversations we discussed our Poverty Truth journey who some were already aware of and who have been involved in from the start, as well as our achievements since launching the poverty strategy, ‘A Fairer Future’. 

As part of our Poverty Truth movement we talked about how we wanted to develop stronger relationships with our decision makers to build a two way conversation, to advocate for the importance of lived experience and putting into practice the ethos of ‘Nothing about us, without us, is for us.’. 

We also wanted to highlight by working together locally and at a national level how these conversation can help build relationships, share common hopes and influence change as we continue all our shared mission of tackling poverty and financial hardship and influence change.’

Co-chair of Poverty Truth Advisory Board, Co-chair of the Food Partnership Food Insecurity Group, Rachel, a community inspirer, added: 

‘During our informal chats with our MP’s we had very important conversation about some of the issues affecting residents in their own constituency.  We have been able to talk about all the work the community inspirers are doing along with Cheshire West and Chester to ensure a fairer future for everyone.  We also talked about how we wanted to see more cross party working to tackle poverty, with a less divisive approach, putting people struggling against poverty at the centre of the conversations. 

Our meetings will hopefully be the starting point for us to develop close relationships with our MP’s and ensure real experiences are central to decisions affecting us. It was great to meet our MPs and we are really looking forward to working with them in the future.

The impact of these chats has been that real people are just meeting for a cuppa and we just talk about the hardships people are facing, the work the inspirers are doing and any opportunities for people to get involved in shaping future policies in government. We are very confident about the impact these conversations can and will have.’

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole PTC

Katharine Harrison, Community Commissioner Enabler from BCP said:

‘On a crazy Friday afternoon in December, Bournemouth West MP Jessica Toale shared a quick cuppa with Community Commissioner Sarah, Civic & Business Commissioner Alan, and facilitator Kath from BCP Poverty Truth. We hope she found it a ‘breather’ between her previous meeting and a BBC interview; although it was a squeeze to communicate much in the 45 minutes she had available, we tried to give her a relaxed introduction to a different way of working. It was a fun and friendly time, and we hope it might lead to more connection in 2025.’

We encourage you to get involved. Invite your MP for a cup of tea to introduce them to the Poverty Truth way. Now is the perfect time to shift the conversation about poverty at both local and national levels. 

The Poverty Truth Network (PTN) can provide a template letter and facilitation guide to help you set up the conversation. Ask your facilitator or contact us for more information.