Making the most of an MP visit

May, 2025

While some people might question the value of engaging with their local MP, the team at Maxim would strongly advocate putting in the time and effort to meet them, especially if you might need to call on their support in the future. 

Connecting with your local MP provides an opportunity to showcase what your business does, as well as help you make important connections in the corridors of power. 

The key is giving them a reason to visit, and sharing a success is much better than flagging up a problem. Let’s face it – nobody wants to be presented with a problem the first time they meet someone and contrary to popular belief, MPs are human. 

Maxim recently worked with the office of Kevin McKenna, Labour MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, to secure a visit to the £150m investment by Panattoni, the world’s largest privately-owned industrial developer, in his constituency.  

MP Kevin McKenna (third from left) is joined by Alex Mitchell, Tony Watkins and Steve Vickers from Panattoni for a tour of Panattoni Park Sittingbourne.

The Panattoni visit had three key ingredients. It had financial significance; the physical size of the development, and it marked a major milestone. The visit celebrated the practical completion of Phase 1 of Panattoni Park Sittingbourne and its two units of 440,000 sq ft and a 205,000 sq ft respectively. 

With it being Kent’s largest speculative commercial property development for more than a decade, the visit was also newsworthy, so we arranged a professional photographer to capture the visit and prepared a press release. 

Meeting the Panattoni team gave the MP an opportunity to ask about the project, understand why it had happened and what it will mean for his constituents. He could also hear first-hand about the health of the sector, in this case logistics and distribution development, and impact of government policies. We were also able to also tell the MP that work had got under way on Phase 2 next door, with a new facility being built for parcel delivery company DPD, bringing with it more jobs – so there might be a follow-up visit. 

Opening new offices is another golden opportunity to host an MP’s visit, enabling them to meet the team and cut the ribbon or unveil a plaque. And if they are a Government Minister, showing them how their money is being spent can appeal and boost the chances of them accepting an invitation.  

Having MPs champion your business can also lead them to use you as an example in a debate in Parliament, or even at Prime Minister’s questions, but it all starts with a visit. 

Below are Maxim’s top tips to make the most of an MP visit.

1. Decide what you want to achieve from the visit and how you’re going to make that happen. 
    
2. Give the MP a compelling reason to visit, as their time is limited and they are in demand.
    
3. Plan way ahead as their diaries get booked up. 
    
4. Make sure your top team is available to meet them on the day. 
    
5. Agree before the event if you want to promote the visit to the press – and if so, book a professional photographer (don’t leave it to Dave in Accounts who’s got a good camera). 
    
6. If you want the press to attend, always agree that with the MP beforehand, as the press may want to ask about other issues in their constituency and there’s the risk that becomes the story. 
    
7. Being able to offer a well-crafted press release and professional photograph can help avoid the need for the media to attend but still generate coverage. 
    
8. Agree the timetable – and keep to it – as their day in the constituency will inevitably have a full schedule. 
    
9. Don’t change the date or time, or have your top people drop out, at the last minute. 
    
10. Get the simple things right i.e. parking, refreshments, hi-vis and PPE in the right sizes if needed, etc. 

…and then enjoy the visit and smile for the camera.