The P key doesnt work on my keyboard

See if "P" has been assigned to one of the functions in the "Speech" system preference.

The only key that seems to be set up in the Speech preferences in the Listening key and I have nothing ticked in the Text to Speech section.

Even so, try setting the trigger keys in Speech Recognition and Text To Speech to something other than P.

Do both "P" and "p" fail, or only "P"? If only "P" fails, it's unlikely to be a problem with the keyboard.

Look in the "Keyboard Shortcuts" tab of "Keyboard & Mouse" system preference and see if "P" has been used for a shortcut.

Malcolm,

I was reading this article because I had a similar problem with my 3 key. It would not work on my keyboard but it would work on my numeric pad. I took your advise and checked the “Keyboard Shortcuts" tab of "Keyboard & Mouse” and sure enough 3 was used for a shortcut for a screen capture. I deselected it and as you can see my 3 is back.

Thanks. This forum is great. I've learned so much from it.

Regards, Phil
Macintosh b'Gosh

Both "P" and "p" fail.

Try putting it on edge and hitting the "P" key many times to shake loose any dirt under the key. You could also try blowing compressed air into the crack around the key.

The final test is to try a PRAM rest (booting with Command-Option-P-R pressed until the tone sounds thrice). That doesn't use any of OSX, so if it fails, it has to be a hardware problem.
Also check the battery, if it's removable. I remember a report of a laptop with a swollen battery pushing up against the keyboard causing problems.