10 Mar 2026
Local action groups in England and Wales will hand in petitions and community open letters, trying to persuade MPs to back a new law. This day of action will kick off a summer of creative campaigning, culminating in a mass lobby at Westminster in the autumn.
What is the local day of action?
On Friday 5 June 2026, local action groups will take the full weight of the community support they’ve built over the previous year of campaigning to their MPs at their constituency offices.
Increase your impact by collaborating with other local organisations to hand in your petitions and community open letters, and ask your MP(s) to sign the Good Business Matters pledge. We need as many MPs as possible to sign the pledge and take action to support the law (for example by asking a parliamentary question).
Get positive local media and social media coverage of your petition hand-ins, showing that MPs and their staff are paying attention to what’s being talked about locally. By keeping the day light-hearted and fun, groups can also attract new members to their group with a positive first experience of campaigning.
What do you need to do to get involved?
Here are some suggestions for how to get involved...
Gather your group and arrange to meet your MP at their constituency office
If you have more than one MP in your area, then prioritise the one that has most petition postcards addressed to them or try and visit one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
MP photo opportunity
At the MP’s constituency office invite them to pose for a photo with your group, while holding a pledge sign. To make the photo as visually appealing as possible, re-use Planet Over Profit murals, placards and animal masks and come up with an eye-catching dress code as a group. For example, everyone wears Friends of the Earth t-shirts or as much green as they can.
Get a date in the diary ASAP
Ideally this would take place on or around 5 June 2026, depending on your MP’s availability. We’ve suggested a Friday, as this is the day when MPs are most likely to be in their constituencies. But if a different day works better for you or your MP, go for it. May and June are a busy time with Great Big Green Week, Summer Action Gatherings, bank holidays and half-term, so use these dates as a guideline rather than being definitive. You could also spread your hand-ins over multiple days.
Email your MP with all the details
It’s important to let your MP know you’re coming as soon as possible and arrange to meet with them. Use this template email to reach out to them.
It’s great if you can work with at least one other organisation to make this hand-in a success. We’re more powerful when we work in coalition with other groups, especially when we’re coming from different angles or experiences at the same issue. So, take a look at your community open letter and decide who you most want to work with on this hand-in. Maybe your local Unison branch or wood-recycling project, or a migrants’ rights charity or Amnesty International chapter? Reach out to them as early as possible to find a suitable date and time for their members. This will allow your MP to see the wide range of support for the campaign, beyond environmental organisations.
On the day of your hand-in, send an email with your digital petition and community open letter attached and say you’re looking forward to meeting in-person. When you get to the constituency office, introduce yourselves, greet the MP and ask them to pose for a photo with your group. Choose an engaging and relevant background, such as outside their offices with the MP’s name and party clearly visible. Hand over the petition postcards, printed petitions and community open letter. You may also wish to hand them a copy of the MP briefing [coming soon].
If your MP won’t meet with you, you can still hand in the petition and letter to the MP’s office and pose for a photo outside.
What you’ll need to bring on the local day of action
Here are things you'll need to bring on the local day of action...
- Signed Planet over Profit petition postcards.
- Printout of your digital petition.
- Printout of your community open letter with signatories of local businesses and organisations.
- MP pledge card.
- Planet over Profit materials, eg murals, placards, animal masks.
- Friends of the Earth branded materials, eg t-shirts, banners.
- Partner branded materials (ask the organisation your are working with to bring these).
- Someone with a good camera, prepared to take high-quality photos.
- Printout of the MP briefing [coming soon].
How to get local press and media coverage
You can really maximise the impact of your hand-in by getting local press and social media coverage. Email your local newspaper, radio and TV outlets at least a week in advance of your hand-in, inviting them to cover the story. Attach a press release with a clear date, location and timings for the hand-in, inviting them to take pictures on the day or offering to send your own afterwards. Don’t be shy about following up with a call either. Even if you don’t hear back from them, it’s crucial that you follow up after the hand-in to share the press release again with good-quality, engaging photographs from the hand-in.
Share the photos from the hand-in on social media with a clear call to action – for example, inviting people to attend your next group meeting to plan your summer campaign activities. Encourage your friends, supporters and other local organisations to share the post to boost engagement. Friends of the Earth will share your social media posts, make sure to tag us and your MP!
Making your local day of action joyful
Campaigning can sometimes feel like a thankless task, so we want to keep this day of action joyful and community centred. If you have can add a fun social element to the petition hand-in, it’ll make the day even better. Share photos from your events on your social media, so prospective members can see it’s not all meetings and protests. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Organise an ethical picnic in a green space close to your MP’s office. Invite friends, family and people on your mailing list. You could do this directly before or after your petition hand-in, because people are much more likely to attend an action if food’s involved.
Host a “crafternoon” making props to use at the Planet over Profit mass lobby in the autumn. This would be a good opportunity to start making your community bunting, which will be the main campaigning tactic over the summer.
Recreate a social event that’s worked well for your group in the past to attract new members in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
After the day of action
Let us know if you met with your MP and how they responded. Your intel really helps us keep track of how MPs are viewing the new law, so we can keep our political work focused and impactful. Email [email protected] with any pictures and anecdotes.
It’s a good idea to follow up with your MP after the day of action, thanking them for their time and providing any further information they may have asked for, including how they can sign the Good Business Matters pledge. And follow up with partner groups who worked with you to help make that relationship even more positive, suggesting ways you could work together in the future. If any new members joined for the action, invite them to your next event or meeting in writing as well as verbally – a personal message goes a long way to making new members feel welcome and valued.