Democracy is the worst form of government except all the others which have been tried.

And given that fact, it’s probably about time scientists started engaging in it so that this important voice is heard. In fact we have been already to some extent; but perhaps it’s time to get serious.

I was at the BSA science communication conference last week, and was lucky enough to attend some pretty illuminating discussions, one of which with ex-MP Evan Harris, parliamentary advisor Michael O’Brien and external POST board member Jim Norton explored how we can effectively influence and engage with parliamentarians.

As Dr. Harris put it,

The opposition to the STEM agenda is well organised and aggressive, as I’ve recently found out we need now to be equally well organised.

This post is a regurgitation of the tips and tricks I learned from the insiders, and I hope it will serve as a basic toolkit for thinking about getting the STEM agenda heard by parliamentarians.

Jim Norton is an external board member for POST

1. Peers are more easily influenced than ministers

MPs are incredibly busy, subject to party policy and find it difficult to change their minds on issues for fear of being branded indecisive. But Lords (and Ladies) are not at all the same.

The members of the House of Lords are much less strongly influenced by whips and 'party lines' than the commons, because unlike ministers they’re generally not after more powerful jobs (they’ve already got them) and their party officials can’t just take their jobs away if they don’t tow the party line.

Occasionally bills start out in the Lords and when they do it’s a great chance to get in quickly and start lobbying for the scientific point of view to be taken into account.

You’ll need to find out which peer is the most appropriate to contact for the issue you want heard; this takes a bit of thought and research.

Lords don’t have constituencies and don’t really have any responsibility to respond to (or even read the letters of) just any random person who writes to them, so it’s best to pick a peer who has an interest in the topic you’re concerned about.

You can try searching the write to them database, which will tell you which peers have spoken the most on particular issues in the house. You should also use the links to the records of speeches to find out what they said – they might have been speaking against the issue you want to promote! Clearly also, there’s not much point trying to make your point to someone already a patron of your cause: you’ll be wasting your time preaching to the converted.

One interesting specific topic worth mentioning is libel reform. Last Thursday Lord Lester introduced a private members bill on libel law reform, a subject about which much has been written of late in the blogosphere. This bill is starting out in the Lords and is a prime candidate for lobbying.

Everyones favourite skeptic: Evan Harris was also on hand to share his insight.

2. Talk to POST

The parliamentary office of science and technology (POST) is also a useful resource to direct MPs to. POST spends lots of time and money thoughtfully producing POSTnotes; well-researched lay-person briefings on bits of science which are relevant to public policy. But according to Jim Norton most MPs are either unaware of the resource or too busy to go through them.

Contacting a minister and directing them to (or briefly quoting) a POSTnote could be a very effective and respectable way to make them aware of a fact relating to your chosen lobbying point. And in some cases, it could be a polite way to point out that their opinion isn't backed up by government-sanctioned research. Anyone can read POSTnotes online here.

Getting in contact with the civil servants and scientific advisors at POST could also be useful. Suggesting a particular topic which would merit review by the government and perhaps even citing yourself as someone with an informed opinion on it (as long as that’s true) could lead to a POSTnote on the subject and maybe even people contacting you to help them research it!

3. Contacting your MP

The view from the pannel on this topic was more pessimistic. They emphasised how busy MPs are and the pressure they're under to say certain things in order to keep their jobs.

That means it's often not very much use lobbying MPs on huge issues like GMOs or something, because the party they belong to will have developed a certain standpoint, and individuals will look bad if they don't stick to it.

The pannel instead advocated 'getting in early' before the issue you're interested in becomes massively controversial and while the parties are still deciding their opinions. That's the time to lobby.

The good news is that sometimes, when a bill is being passed on very important issues (like for example the human fertilisation and embryology bill a few years ago) MPs are allowed a free vote. In these instances it is perhaps worth getting in touch, but the pannel had this advice:

- Talk face to face in an MPs surgery or get on the telephone: speaking in person has a much higher impact than an email (which will alost certainly be read by an aide).

- Give the MP a connection to a local problem to highlight your point. Maybe there is a scientific research station or University in your constituency and the MP should be concerned about the negative effect that this legislation might have on it.

- Be concise and clear.

And to end with, remember, these aren't my words; they're straight from the mouths of politicians. And after instruction from a source of such absolute trustworthiness, you should be positively raring to go. Let the lobbying commence.