The Effect of Digital Media on MPs' Communication with Constituents

The internet has created opportunities to restructure communication between MPs and constituents and has led to an increase in opportunity and, in some cases, motivation for MPs to communicate online. This paper reports the findings of a survey of 168 MPs and a subsequent focus group of MPs and parliamentary staff. The research shows that email has become a ubiquitous tool of choice for most MPs and it is clearly perceived as a valuable tool for keeping in touch with constituents. The research describes both the rise of social networking and the reticence of MPs to adopt blogging; which is seen as a negative space and scatter-gun tool. The findings show that, where adopted, digital media can and does change the relationship between MPs and their constituents.