You don’t have to be in the Westminster bubble to be impacted by the decisions made in it. For smaller charities and those based outside of London, it can seem an unaffordable expense, but political monitoring and engagement does not need to be costly.
These four simple and, crucially, free tools will allow you to keep your finger on the pulse of Parliament without ever needing to set foot in London or stump up the costs for a political monitoring service.
Benedict Brogan’s Morning Briefing
Benedict Brogan is Deputy Editor of the Telegraph and one of the most respected commentators there is. His morning email is probably the most widely read communiqué in the political scene. It’s a great breakfast read with short but analytical overviews of the key stories of the day, as well as a collation of interesting articles and events for the day.
Sign up for Beneditct Brogan’s Morning Briefing
TheyWorkForYou.com
A not-for-profit website run by mySociety, it brings together transcripts from Parliament and parliamentarians’ contact and biography details, but is a thousand times more user-friendly than Hansard, Parliament’s official record of proceedings. You can find your MP, search for the parliamentarians who speak most frequently on a topic of interest, check an MP’s areas of interest and voting record, and even set up email alerts for when individual speaks in the House.
Mark D’Arcy’s Week ahead at Westminster
Not another Jane Austen spin off, but a round-up of the parliamentary debates, committee meetings and political events for the coming week from the BBC’s parliamentary correspondent. It gives a much broader view than Ben Brogan’s updates, but it might be too much information for some people’s needs. You can find this on the
BBC News Politics section.
Mark D’Arcy’s RSS feed (RSS reader required)
Simply following your local MP, a political commentator, and the minister, shadow minister and select committee relevant to your interests will give you a good overview of what they are talking about and involved in, helping you to engage and influence as and when you need to. Members of NCVO’s Policy and External Relations teams also tweet on relevant issues.
Full list of tweeting NCVO team members
For tips on how best to engage…
Blog posts
Watch this space for more posts…
KnowHow NonProfit
StudyZone
How to campaign: essentials of charity campaigning (discounted for NCVO members)
Publications
Good Guide to Campaigning and Influencing (discounted for NCVO members)
Charlotte was our senior external relations officer and public affairs consultant. She has left NCVO 
