An AOP explainer on... engaging with MPs

Politics is a very crowded field, so being able to identify those voices that can amplify our message is absolutely crucial to our strategy.

From there, it’s all about building rapport and opening a dialogue with MPs. We aim to create a synergy where the AOP can support the work of Parliament, and Parliament can support our work in turn.

It’s all about relationships. By harnessing a mutual relationship with key MPs, we are able to position ourselves as a useful partner and a trusted source of information. In the long term, that puts the AOP in a good position to influence how governments deal with eye health.

The basis of our work is knowledge-sharing. We spend a lot of time engaging with MPs and briefing them on the key issues in eye care and optometry so they can make the case for our members in Parliament.

A great example is the Westminster Hall debate on glaucoma awareness in summer. We briefed a number of MPs on what our members are experiencing with regards to glaucoma. This allowed us to help shape an engaged and informative debate.

Our primary care colleagues in pharmacy have seen success in this area in recent years. Their advocacy has led to a national contract for pharmacists to deliver appropriate primary care that does not need to take up GP time – that just shows what is achievable in our sector.

The AOP attended several party conferences in the autumn. Conference is the showpiece event of the political calendar. It’s a bit like the FA Cup final. It is a great opportunity for us to connect with parliamentary allies and sector partners to help shape the agenda on health for the upcoming year. Party conference is a renewal of the political conversation for the next year – it's the only time you’ll get both politicians and sector partners in the same place at the same time, so you have to make the most of your captive audience.

Party conference season was a big success for the AOP. We were able to engage directly with the frontbench teams of each of the main parties, including conversations with the Department of Health and Social Care, and both the Liberal Democrat and Conservative health spokespeople.

The AOP hosted a panel discussion titled: Health on every High Street during the Labour party conference, in collaboration with Progressive Britain. The event explored how primary care can deliver more services closer to home and featured Adam Sampson, the chief executive of the AOP, and Stephen Kinnock MP, the Minister of State for Care.

The rationale behind hosting the fringe was to give us the opportunity to formalise the conversations we want to have as an organisation and as a sector. It gave us the opportunity to get key thought leaders in the same place at the same time, and discuss the issues that affect optometry and primary care, as well as influence those in the room to consider the AOP’s campaign asks.

It is a great idea for members to reach out to their local MP. The workload of an MP is broad and varied. Very often, MPs will champion the issues that their constituents are telling them are important – if they hear about eye care issues, they’ll start to talk about eye health. It’s simply down to volume: if a message is repeated often enough and by different voices, then it’s more likely to be heard.

MPs spend a lot of time engaging with different people and different organisations. It’s easy for them to ignore an organisation – it's not so easy to ignore a concerned constituent.

The AOP has a dedicated MP practice visit pack, as well as briefing materials for a whole range of policy positions and campaigns, including our economic modelling report produced by PA Consulting, and our recent You Won’t See It Coming glaucoma awareness campaign.

1 OT CPD exams, 31 December 2025

Exams will close at 11.59pm on 31 December 2025 and reopen on 2 January 2026. Find OT’s live CPD hub here.

2 100% Optical, 28 February – 2 March 2026

Booking is open for the UK’s leading event for optical professionals. Register for your free pass online.

3 CPD lunch club, January

The AOP will launch a new educational webinar, taking place once per month, providing quick updates and insights into clinical topics. Keep up-to-date online.

Rewind

A review of AOP activity in the last two months.

Pixabay/F1_Digitals

Membership reminders

The AOP is reminding members to review their membership grade as they renew for the year ahead. Membership can be renewed online or via an automated phone service on 020 7549 2010. Receipts confirming renewal can be found on MyAOP, and membership certificates for 2026 will be available to download from 5 January.

OT

HSOC 2025 success

The AOP brought together optometrists for a weekend of education at the Hospital and

Specialty Optometrists Conference 2025, supported by headline sponsor Bausch + Lomb. Read OT’s coverage here.

Pixabay/ Oleksandr Pidvalnyi

OCT Day recordings live

Recordings from a day of education focused on optical coherence tomography (OCT) are available to rewatch on the OT Education Library. OT, in partnership with the AOP, hosted the programme of four webinars to support confidence in interpreting OCT.