Labour Parliammentary Assistant
In conversation with a Labour Parliamentary Assistant
by Tony Randall
With your MP generally doing everything they can to help their constituents and having Parliamentary duties to attend it can limit the amount of time they have dealing with all enquiries.
One vital piece of support to an MP is their Parliamentary Assistant and i spoke to a Labour one who works in the heart of Westminster who didn't want to be named.
TR: How long have you been a Parliamentary Assistant for now? And have you always had a love of politics?
PA: I've been in Parliament for around four years now, I interned for one MP for three months, worked full-time for another one for 2 years up to the 2010 election, got made redundant when he lost his seat, and then i came to work for my latest MP who I've been with for just under 2 years. I was always interested in international issues but only came to UK politics in the year after leaving university. My family aren't political at all so it was never something we discussed at home.
TR: What is your role for the MP?
PA: My job is to support the MP's parliamentary activities, which can range from writing questions for her to ask in the House of Commons, to preparing her for a select committee hearing, to researching or writing a speech or article, to almost anything else. There's some press work too, and other communications like keeping the website up to date and making sure constituents all get answers to their letters and emails. Of course, there's also the more mundane side to it all- someone has to make sure the office has enough rubber bands and that's my job too!
TR: When you first got the job did you have any expectations of how it would be? And has it lived up to that?
PA: I interned in parliament before i got my first job here, so i thought i had a pretty good idea of what the job would be. In reality I found it alot more hectic! However, on good days it's still my ideal job. There are bad days too but i don't believe there's a single job in the world that doesn't have those.
TR: When an MP has a bad day in the " office" would you be the first port of call to try and sort out any problems?
PA: It depends what the problem is. If it was my fault in the first place then yes! Most of the time MPs will sort out problems on their own, but it's my job to be on hand to help if needed.
TR: Are there times when you would disagree with your MP on ideas or policies they might come up with? And how would you go about coming up with a compromise?
PA: Ultimately my job is to support someone who was democratically elected. That's a very powerful thing, and it would be totally inappropriate to insist on a compromise between her and me. I've never been elected, after all. However, that doesn't mean i can't offer advice or comments, especially on policies that the MP is less familiar with-and if you work for an MP in the party you support, major disagreements will be quite rare.
TR: Are you allowed or would want to socialise with other Parliamentary Assistants from rival parties? Or would you tend to speak to people in your own party?
PA: Some researchers tend only to associate with people from their own " side" , but I've got friends from lots of parties. A running group I'm involved with has members from all parties and I've really enjoyed getting to know people from the opposite team!!
TR: From the outside many people would think both the MPs and yourself work in swanky, plush offices in Westminster, what are they really like?
PA: Some of the offices are lovely but ours isn't one of them! The more senior MPs get allocated offices in the modern parts of the parliamentary estate, normally with an area for themselves and a separate for for their staff. The newer MPs are put in the less desirable areas, sharing room with their staff, and some of them are terrible. Our office has windows which not all of them do so we're lucky there, but we have a real lack of table space. In fact we often use an upturned bin as a place to put the phone! We cant even have meetings in here because there literally aren't enough space.
TR: From a publics prospective MPs have seriously damaged their credibility over recent years, working close with them day in day out as you do, Is this a fair charge?
PA: It was often the staff who had to deal with the fallout of the expenses scandal, so I'm as angry as anyone else about what happened. I think parts of the charge is fair, as it's clear many MPs acted very badly. They deserved to lose their jobs and most of them did. But i also see the other side- MPs who have always worked hard and haven't done anything wrong. There are plenty of them too, and they deserve to be treated fairly. I don't think the public will ever " like" MPs as a group, and that's fine -but no-one should be judged with out knowing the facts.
TR: Where do you go from being a Parliamentary Assistant? Is there ambitions of a career in politics?
PA: Some Parliamentary Assistants do go and stand for parliament themselves, but I'm not planning to do that.
TR: It seems life as an MP can be a long day and week, Is that the same for you? and is there time to party?
PA: Working hours here can be strange- sometimes very long, and often quite isolated too. The good thing is that there are plenty of us in the same boat, so we can normally fit a party in somewhere.
TR: If there is anybody who would like a career as a Parliamentary Assistant what advice would you give them?
PA: It's always a good idea to get some experience to find out if the job would suit you, and to show MPs that you're serious about ( and capable of ) doing it, Internships are controversial but if you can fit one in part-time , or do some volunteering with a local political party, it's a good idea. Then once you're in: work hard, remain calm at all times, and keep you desk well stocked with staples and highlighters. Everything else is down to luck.
by Tony Randall
One vital piece of support to an MP is their Parliamentary Assistant and i spoke to a Labour one who works in the heart of Westminster who didn't want to be named.
TR: How long have you been a Parliamentary Assistant for now? And have you always had a love of politics?
PA: I've been in Parliament for around four years now, I interned for one MP for three months, worked full-time for another one for 2 years up to the 2010 election, got made redundant when he lost his seat, and then i came to work for my latest MP who I've been with for just under 2 years. I was always interested in international issues but only came to UK politics in the year after leaving university. My family aren't political at all so it was never something we discussed at home.
TR: What is your role for the MP?
PA: My job is to support the MP's parliamentary activities, which can range from writing questions for her to ask in the House of Commons, to preparing her for a select committee hearing, to researching or writing a speech or article, to almost anything else. There's some press work too, and other communications like keeping the website up to date and making sure constituents all get answers to their letters and emails. Of course, there's also the more mundane side to it all- someone has to make sure the office has enough rubber bands and that's my job too!
TR: When you first got the job did you have any expectations of how it would be? And has it lived up to that?
PA: I interned in parliament before i got my first job here, so i thought i had a pretty good idea of what the job would be. In reality I found it alot more hectic! However, on good days it's still my ideal job. There are bad days too but i don't believe there's a single job in the world that doesn't have those.
TR: When an MP has a bad day in the " office" would you be the first port of call to try and sort out any problems?
PA: It depends what the problem is. If it was my fault in the first place then yes! Most of the time MPs will sort out problems on their own, but it's my job to be on hand to help if needed.
TR: Are there times when you would disagree with your MP on ideas or policies they might come up with? And how would you go about coming up with a compromise?
PA: Ultimately my job is to support someone who was democratically elected. That's a very powerful thing, and it would be totally inappropriate to insist on a compromise between her and me. I've never been elected, after all. However, that doesn't mean i can't offer advice or comments, especially on policies that the MP is less familiar with-and if you work for an MP in the party you support, major disagreements will be quite rare.
TR: Are you allowed or would want to socialise with other Parliamentary Assistants from rival parties? Or would you tend to speak to people in your own party?
PA: Some researchers tend only to associate with people from their own " side" , but I've got friends from lots of parties. A running group I'm involved with has members from all parties and I've really enjoyed getting to know people from the opposite team!!
TR: From the outside many people would think both the MPs and yourself work in swanky, plush offices in Westminster, what are they really like?
PA: Some of the offices are lovely but ours isn't one of them! The more senior MPs get allocated offices in the modern parts of the parliamentary estate, normally with an area for themselves and a separate for for their staff. The newer MPs are put in the less desirable areas, sharing room with their staff, and some of them are terrible. Our office has windows which not all of them do so we're lucky there, but we have a real lack of table space. In fact we often use an upturned bin as a place to put the phone! We cant even have meetings in here because there literally aren't enough space.
TR: From a publics prospective MPs have seriously damaged their credibility over recent years, working close with them day in day out as you do, Is this a fair charge?
PA: It was often the staff who had to deal with the fallout of the expenses scandal, so I'm as angry as anyone else about what happened. I think parts of the charge is fair, as it's clear many MPs acted very badly. They deserved to lose their jobs and most of them did. But i also see the other side- MPs who have always worked hard and haven't done anything wrong. There are plenty of them too, and they deserve to be treated fairly. I don't think the public will ever " like" MPs as a group, and that's fine -but no-one should be judged with out knowing the facts.
TR: Where do you go from being a Parliamentary Assistant? Is there ambitions of a career in politics?
PA: Some Parliamentary Assistants do go and stand for parliament themselves, but I'm not planning to do that.
TR: It seems life as an MP can be a long day and week, Is that the same for you? and is there time to party?
PA: Working hours here can be strange- sometimes very long, and often quite isolated too. The good thing is that there are plenty of us in the same boat, so we can normally fit a party in somewhere.
TR: If there is anybody who would like a career as a Parliamentary Assistant what advice would you give them?
PA: It's always a good idea to get some experience to find out if the job would suit you, and to show MPs that you're serious about ( and capable of ) doing it, Internships are controversial but if you can fit one in part-time , or do some volunteering with a local political party, it's a good idea. Then once you're in: work hard, remain calm at all times, and keep you desk well stocked with staples and highlighters. Everything else is down to luck.
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