A new MP, Robert Halfon, has shared some of his thoughts on how charities lobby in The Guardian.

150 to 200 impersonal emails a days and a post bag full with "glossy reports, papers, letters from organisations, nine times out of ten sent as a mass mail-out and often with spelling mistakes" have left him feeling a little frustrated.

He also questions the idea that an effective internet campaign comprises setting up a website that sends an MP automated emails after a constituent adds their name and postcode.

As a result he's shared a few tips on how you could get him (and other MPs) to support your cause…

"When I get an invite to visit the local branch of an organisation, I will always go.

When I get a personalised letter, hand signed from a chief executive (as opposed to a public affairs officer) that contains local statistics and information, how can I not fail to be interested?

When a local constituent calls me asking for a meeting, to talk about his or her involvement in her charity, I will always do it."

I think it was Ken Livingstone who, back in the eighties, said that it only took a handful of letters on a single issue to make an MP sit up and take notice.

It seems things aren't so different today – as long as those letters are personal and relevant.

Just as with donors, it's a technique that wins every single time.

Robert's full article can be found here.