How I handle your data.

I am known as a ‘data controller’ for the use of your personal data listed in this notice. My use is separate to the Labour Party’s. To understand how the Labour Party uses your personal data, see the privacy pages on its website.

Why I use your personal data

My main uses of your personal data fall under what’s known as democratic engagement: making decisions about how best to run the constituency and country, and how best to represent your views in Parliament.

That means using your data to communicate with you, gather your opinions through meetings, calls and surveys, conduct casework, and keep you informed of my work. Where you have engaged with me on casework, I’ll keep you up to date with a service-message newsletter. Where you’ve interacted with me outside casework, I ask for your consent first, and you can opt out at any time.

Special category data

Some of your data may fall into ‘Special Category’ data: more private and sensitive information about ethnicity, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetic and biometric data, health, sex life or sexual orientation. I use this only where the law allows, and only when it’s necessary for democratic engagement or safeguarding.

How your data is collected

Mostly directly from you: when you submit casework, speak to me at an event or while I’m campaigning, sign up to a newsletter, make a donation, or fill in a survey. You may also have contacted me by email, the ‘Contact’ form on this site, or via social media.

I have a legal entitlement to the full electoral register for my constituency, which includes the full name and address of every registered elector, and I may write to you in connection with my activities as an MP.

Who I share your data with

I will only share as much personal data as is necessary for the purpose it was collected. I never sell your personal data, and it is never used for commercial gain.

Your data may be processed by the Parliamentary Digital Service (PDS) as a technology service provider for my Parliamentary email and storage. PDS cannot use your data unless there is a legal or safeguarding reason to do so.

If relevant to casework, I’ll share your details with people who can help: local councils, Government departments, charities. Where you might be able to help on someone else’s casework as a useful contact, I’ll seek your permission first.

Newsletter and news content

My newsletter and the news section of this site are powered by Substack, which acts as a sub-processor when you subscribe or when your browser loads recent posts on the news page. Substack handles the email addresses of subscribers and stores published posts. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any newsletter email, and you can read Substack’s privacy notice for details of how they handle your data.

Surgery booking form

When you submit the surgery booking form, the details you provide (name, email, phone if given, postcode, preferred area and message) are stored in Airtable, which my office uses to triage and respond to requests. Airtable acts as a data processor on my behalf. The data is held only for as long as needed to handle your case and is not shared beyond the parties already described above. You can ask the office to delete your record at any time.

Artificial intelligence

Your personal data is never shared with any AI systems or large data models. Any use of AI is with anonymous data only. AI is not trained or iterated on your personal data. Where there’s a more sophisticated AI use case, I ensure functional anonymisation so the data meets the threshold of being for altruistic purposes only.

Legal basis for using your data

The laws governing my use of your personal data are the Representation of the People Act 2001, the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000, the Data Protection Act 2018, and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).

For most uses I rely on either a ‘task in the public interest’ under Article 6.1(e) (democratic engagement) or ‘legitimate interest’ under Article 6.1(f) (e.g. service messages, recruitment). Special category data is used under Article 9.2(g) ‘substantial public interest’ or 9.2(f) for the defence of legal claims.

How long I keep your data

Unless you tell me otherwise, I’ll keep your data until it’s no longer tenable to do so, usually until I’m no longer your MP. Casework data is kept only as long as needed to resolve your case, then minimised to a contact record so you don’t have to start again if you contact me later.

Signing an open letter

When you sign one of my open letters on this website, my office records your name, email address and postcode, the council ward and constituency your postcode is in, and whether you want your name published. Signing a campaign letter can reveal your political opinions, so I only use these details with your explicit consent, which you give when you sign (Article 9.2(a) UK GDPR).

Your postcode is used to check that you live in Rugby, Bulkington and the Villages, or within 15 miles of the Hospital of St Cross, using the free lookup service postcodes.io, which receives only the postcode. Your email address is used to make sure each person signs only once. Signatures are stored in Airtable, which acts as a data processor on my behalf.

If you choose to be listed publicly, your name and ward appear on the letter’s page as soon as you sign, and in the copy of the letter sent to its recipient. If you choose not to, your signature is counted but your name is never published. Your email address and postcode are never published.

If you tick the box to subscribe to my newsletter, my office adds your email address to my newsletter on Substack (see ‘Newsletter and news content’ above). You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any newsletter email.

I keep signatures until the letter has been formally delivered, and no later than 3 January 2027 for my letter about urgent care at the Hospital of St Cross. After that, I delete the personal details and keep only the total number of signatures. Once a letter has been delivered, the recipient holds their own copy, and names that were published may have been copied by others; neither can be recalled.

You can withdraw your signature at any time by emailing john.slinger.mp@parliament.uk. My office will remove it from the letter and delete your details.

Reporting a problem with your post

When you report a problem with your post on this website, my office records your name, email address, phone number if you give it, address and the details of the problem. These are stored in Airtable, which acts as a data processor on my behalf.

I use reports to map where deliveries are failing across Rugby and to track whether things improve. I share a summary with Royal Mail, by area and postcode district, with no names or contact details. If you tick the box to agree, I also share your address and what you reported, so Royal Mail can check deliveries on your street; your name, email address and phone number are never shared. My office uses your contact details only to get in touch if we need more detail. If you tick the box to subscribe to my newsletter, my office adds your email address to my newsletter on Substack, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Because the aim is to track the problem over time, I keep reports for as long as I’m working on Royal Mail deliveries in Rugby, and review them every year. Your name, email address, phone number and street address are deleted 12 months after your report; after that I keep only the area, postcode district and details of the problem. You can ask my office to delete your report at any time by emailing john.slinger.mp@parliament.uk.

Keeping your data secure

I align with the national Labour Party’s security processes and have appropriate measures in place to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way, altered or disclosed. Access is limited to those who need it, and they are subject to a duty of confidentiality. Where required by law, I’ll notify you and any applicable regulator of a breach.

Cookies

Cookies are small files a website saves in your browser. This website only sets analytics cookies if you agree to them, using the cookie message shown on your first visit.

Analytics cookies (optional)

If you accept them, the website uses Google Analytics to show my team how people use it: which pages are visited, how people find the site, and what kind of device and browser they use. That helps us improve it. Google Analytics doesn’t store your IP address, and this site doesn’t use Google’s advertising features, so the data isn’t used to show you adverts. Google may process the data outside the UK; its privacy policy explains how.

• _ga: set by Google Analytics to tell visitors apart. Expires after 2 years.
• _ga_2RGYLD0KRR: set by Google Analytics to keep track of a visit. Expires after 2 years.

Strictly necessary

Your cookie choice is remembered in your browser for 12 months, so you aren’t asked on every page. If you’ve been given a password to preview a page that isn’t public yet, a cookie remembers it for 30 days.

Content from other websites

Some pages include a Substack newsletter sign-up box, and videos from YouTube or Vimeo. These services may set their own cookies when the content loads or plays. Their own privacy notices explain how.

Changing your choice

You can change or withdraw your choice at any time, using “Cookie settings” at the bottom of every page or the button below. If you withdraw consent, the analytics cookies are deleted from your browser.

Change cookie settings

Your rights

You have the right to:

• Withdraw any consent you’ve given (the ‘right to object’).
• Request access to the personal data I hold about you.
• Ask me to update or correct your data (the ‘right to rectification’).
• Request that I delete the personal data I hold (the ‘right to erasure’).
• Ask me to restrict processing of your data.

To exercise any of these, please email me at john.slinger.mp@parliament.uk. I’d also recommend submitting the same request to the national Labour Party, as I don’t have access to all the systems they do.

Complaints

To raise a concern about how I’ve handled your data, please contact the Labour Data Protection Team at dataprotection@labour.org.uk, stating my name. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection, though I’d be grateful for the chance to address your concern first.