Help & Advice

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The constituency of Tunbridge Wells covers all of Royal Tunbridge Wells, Paddock Wood and Southborough, as well as surrounding villages stretching from Ashurst and Bidborough in the West, to Hawkhurst and Sandhurst in the South East.

You can easily check if I am your MP via the Parliamentary website. All you need to do is to type your postcode into the box.

 There is a strict Parliamentary rule that MPs can only offer assistance to people who live in, and businesses that are located in, the constituency they represent. 

MPs are elected to Parliament by the British, Irish and Commonwealth residents of a constituency. There are 650 constituencies in the UK. In Parliament, MPs participate in debates and vote on proposed laws and other matters. 

Many MPs are also members of parliamentary committees that examine proposed laws or the work of individual government departments. Some will also have a role as a government minister or as an opposition spokesperson.

I can offer assistance with matters that Parliament and Central Government are responsible for, such as Government Departments or raising issues with Ministers. I can write to senior officials or Ministers in Government Departments and Agencies. 

I can contact Government Agencies like the UK Immigration and Visa Service or the DWP on behalf of constituents. I can ask Parliamentary Questions of Ministers, which they are obliged to reply to.

I am not elected to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, nor Kent County Council. I have no direct control over the issues for which these local authorities have responsibility – such as housing, roads, schools, public transport, refuse collection, and planning. I will try to assist wherever I can by contacting these Councils; however, such assistance may involve me asking for local councillors to take up primary responsibility for your case if they are better placed to progress it.

Unfortunately, I cannot help you with filling in application forms for benefits or housing, or with legal problems. I cannot write to private individuals (for example, your neighbours) on your behalf. I cannot undertake research on your behalf for projects or study that you are undertaking.

I receive hundreds of requests every week for help, assistance and information. I try, along with my Office, to ensure that all work is dealt with as quickly as possible. All requests for help are looked at on receipt and urgent cases are prioritised as quickly as possible. I’m sorry that this sometimes means that you have to wait for a reply.

Advice surgeries are opportunities for constituents with problems to come and speak to me about personal issues or problems that they are experiencing. My Office and I take details of the problems and will then make enquiries about them. Advice surgeries are only for constituents.

Advice surgeries move day, time and venue around the constituency in order to be near as many constituents as possible over a period of time. I also regularly hold online and telephone surgeries.

Following advice from Parliamentary Security Services, all in-person surgeries are by appointment only. 

If you would like to make a surgery appointment then please email:

mike.martin.mp@parliament.uk.

Please note that my staff will ask for your name, contact details and address, and also details of the issue you want to raise with me. This is because surgeries are usually oversubscribed, and so we want to make the best use of your time (and mine) by doing preliminary research before you see me. This may involve writing to third parties before the surgery to get their take on the situation.

If your situation is urgent, or if there are reasons why you cannot provide detail over the telephone or in writing, then I will try to fit you in as soon as I can.

If you have special needs, or access requirements, please do not hesitate to let me know, so that we can adapt to your needs as far as is possible.

The very best way to invite me to an event is to email me at mike.martin.mp@parliament.uk

When sending an invite, please be as clear as possible about what the event is, where it will be, date and time it will run to and from. If you want me to do anything at the event – e.g. make a speech – please say.

I receive over a hundred invitations a month, and sadly I am not able to make more than a very small minority. I will prioritise those within the constituency and those involving ordinary constituents or on the major issues within the constituency.

The Parliament website shows progress for all bills before Parliament at the link below. However it is not particularly easy to navigate from there to finding the votes. It may be simpler to ask me, or you can put my name and the subject of the bill into the search box and it will bring up votes.

If you want to find out what I’ve said the search function on TheyWorkForYou is also good – you can enter an MP’s name along with a topic.

My office is always happy to try to arrange for you to watch a debate in the House of Commons.  Please email mike.martin.mp@parliament.uk with your request. Further information on watching debates can be found here. 

I am happy to help arrange a tour of Parliament for local groups like schools, scouts, and other community groups. These tours are free of charge when the House is sitting. Tours are very popular and are booked up many months in advance. Further information on MP booked tours of Parliament is here. Please email mike.Martin.mp@parliament.uk with your request.

The Public Gallery for the House of Commons is very small, and tickets to PMQs are extremely rare. Our waiting list is now full for the next year.
We will open up a new waiting list in mid-2025.