Surgery (politics)

[1] At a surgery, constituents may raise issues of concern or request assistance in regard to local or national government matters.

MPs often use local party offices, church halls or rooms in public houses as the venues, with a number of surgeries possibly being held at different locations around a constituency.

Surgeries are traditionally held on Fridays or at weekends when MPs have returned from sittings of parliament in Westminster.

[8][9] In the Republic of Ireland, clinics/surgeries are an even more important source of publicity and contact for Teachtaí Dála (TDs) and other representatives, as under the PR-STV system there are very few truly safe seats.

Thus, the clinics are part of the general strategy of maximizing a reputation in the local community, rather than a means of obtaining the support of specific individuals.