How many public servants work in your constituency?
How many public servants work in your constituency?
Using official statistics, the TUC has compiled an estimate of how many public servants work in each constituency in Great Britain. You can find the table here.
For each constituency we show the name of the constituency, the name of the MP elected in 2001, our estimate of the number of public servants, the size of the MP’s majority and their party in 2001, the proportion of the electorate who are public servants and whether the number of public servants is greater than the MP’s majority.
Note all these figures are from the last general election. If there has been a by-election in your constituency then these figures will not be of much use in your campaign.
Using the figures
There are two main ways you might like to use the statistics:
when lobbying your MP - it will no doubt help to concentrate the mind of your MP is you tell him or her just how many voters take a close interest in this issue (as indeed will their family members.)
with the media - particularly if your constituency has a high number of public servants or if your MP’s majority is smaller than the number of public servants, the media will be interested in how many people will be effected.
You could add these figures to the model press release or use them as a second release after the day of action in which you inform the local media of how well it went and the message you took to your MP.
For example 'Representatives of the more than 8,000 public servants who work in his constituency told local MP, Sue Smith, that they were upset and angry at government proposals to 'effectively cut their pay, by making them work longer for their pension' when they met him at his constituency surgery today.
If you include your MP’s view you should clear this with them before you put it in the release. You do not want to be involved in an argument about whether you reported their views properly.
Bt it is quite legitimate to add a quote, 'Speaking on behalf of the lobbyists, Sarah Jones, from union A, said, 'We reminded Ms Smith that her majority at the last election was smaller than the number of public servants among her voters. This is an important issue for them, and they may well take this issue into account when they cast their vote.'
You should describe the figure somewhere in the release as 'a TUC estimate drawn from official statistics'.
Stay Updated
Want to hear about our latest news and blogs?
Sign up now to get it straight to your inbox