The main goals are to inspire and motivate members to engage with their local elected representatives on key pledges relating to women in STEM, responsible procurement, energy policy and stopping the brain drain of civil servants.

After James Leppard (pictured left), a Prospect rep at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, sent a pledge card to his local MP, Steve Brine, he was duly invited to Parliament for a personal meeting.

“I had been corresponding for a little while with Steve on energy and environment issues, from things happening in the constituency to more national issues,” says Leppard.

“He said the positive nature and non-party political aspect of the Prospect Pledge really appealed to him. He was genuinely enthusiastic and interested.”

As a result of the 45-minute meeting, Brine, the MP for Winchester & Chandler’s Ford, has promised to write letters to each of the ministers responsible for each of the individual pledges.

The MP posted a story on his website after last week’s meeting. He said: “I was very pleased to be able to meet with James, who is both a constituent and a Prospect representative. The session was extremely useful for me, and very informative.

“We found an awful lot of agreement over our discussion and I am very happy to add my support and, more importantly, push the agenda and ask the questions of ministers across government.”

Personal touch

Brine was interested in the pledge on energy and the environment, which calls on MPs to back cuts in CO2 emissions and support investment in skills.

Leppard says he was also interested in the STEM pledge, which calls on the government to increase the number of women working in science, technology, engineering or maths careers.

However, it was the personal nature of the campaign that impressed Brine the most.

“He said that he gets a lot of cards for things like petitions and he much preferred if people can chat to him in person about their concerns,” reveals Leppard.

“He was quite impressed that he had received a number of pledge cards from members. I spoke about some of the jobs that people in Prospect do and how diverse and exciting they can be.”

Leppard is not the only member who has been spurred into action by the Prospect Pledge campaign. Reps in Northern Ireland held a meeting at the Parliament Buildings in Stormont with Assembly Member, Chris Lyttle.

The UK Intellectual Property Office branch also campaigned to raise the visibility of the Prospect Pledge.

• Find out more about the Prospect Pledge.