I work for a Member of Parliament AMA.

[MPStaffMemberAMA]

I work for a Member of Parliament AMA.

Obviously I won't write anything identifiable otherwise I can't be completely honest with my other answers.

Thanks, that's well worth knowing.

I'm not sure how our previous MP was about getting casework done. For all I know, he and his team might have been very good. But I noticed a depressing pattern in the way he dealt with campaigns/policy requests. Let's say, for example, that many constituents wanted him to vote against cuts to legal aid.

He would meet/contact the relevant minister to express his concerns about the impact of the cuts to legal aid (cue photo op of him with the minister). He would say he was pleased that his concerns had been noted. Then he would vote in favour of the cuts to legal aid. 😡

Is this typical of MP's?

You paint quite a rosy picture of MPs and Westminster, full of hard working people wanting to do their best. So why do you think that the country has been so badly managed over the last few decades under both Labour and Conservatives?

For example:

Allowing our infrastructure to be sold to overseas buyers, not updated (e.g. no new reservoirs built since 1992).

No credible long term energy policy (e.g, nuclear). Solar panel farms on prime arable land in a country like the UK makes no sense, and also threatens food security.

Failing to support small and medium sized businesses and boost the economy, in fact strangling them with more and more red tape and regulations.

Inability or refusal to control our borders, and/or limit immigration to those people with genuine, in demand skills. This despite elections showing time and time again many people want that?

The list goes on of successive governments inability to manage the county properly, so what is everyone doing? Genuinely not trying to be antagonistic, I just don’t understand what parliament thinks it’s actually achieving for the benefit of this country.

Thanks op, this is really interesting to me. A former colleague was elected as an MP and another colleague who had worked closely with them looked into becoming their assistant but decided against it because the pension where we are is brilliant. Also, presumably if the MP didn’t get elected again they would both be out of a job (not sure about the assistant but that’s a guess?!). So I guess what I’d like to ask is what is the pension offered?

No. But the subsided parliamentary canteen is very appreciated!

When an election is called you're essentially put on notice and your Member has lost their job.

If my Member wasn't re-elected all their staff would lose their jobs. It's very very unlikely an opposition party would want to hire any of them. Although I do know some caseworkers who have worked cross party as it's the least political role.

Thanks, that's really interesting. So ideally it pays to find a job with an MP in a very safe seat then?

It varies based on constituency location, staff member location, Member preference, staff preference and how big the parliamentary office is. Some are too small for more than 3/4 people. Also, each Member only has 4 full staff passes (including the MP) so it limits how freely you can get around parliament.

Does your MP accept donations from businesses etc We read of some MPs (Yvette Cooper for example) receiving donations totally hundreds of thousands of pounds. What do MPs do with that sort of money? It seems that it often gets recorded as "office costs", what in the office would require that amount of expenditure when they can already claim office expenses?

My Member is anti TikTok for various reasons but I will mention its involvement in dangerous fire related behaviour.
The boats are part of a wider problem. Fix the causes of the problem and the boats disappear. Don't focus on hauling people out of the water without also mending the bridge upstream they are all falling through.

The staffing budget is fixed in/outside London and then it's what you do with it. You can get other people/organisations/businesses to pay for staff members but then you're beholden to them. The IPSA staffing budget as long as it adds up you can use it how you like (no family members these days).

Every office staffs itself differently admin, diary, management, policy, casework, comms, constituency support, research etc all the job roles and descriptions are publicly available.

So if you have PT staff or less experienced staff you can have more staff members. FT or top of pay band experienced staff and you have fewer.

Journalists both local and national build relationships with MPs and comms officers. Let me know what aspect you're interested in.

Connected. Which I hope isn't too identifying! Strong roots and authentic representation.

No. We did have a super super keen one who worked at the speed of light but prioritised quantity over quality. A good person but not a good fit for our team which is more building relationships with constituents.

In short, yes. If voting otherwise would be against the Whip then your MP will (in the main) be party loyal over constituency loyal.

That said, genuinely it is worth making your case even so. There is a LOT of behind the scenes listening, negotiating, amending when a party is in government. If they aren't, there's pretty much zero chance of them making an impact on any policy and APPGs are your best influence method.

@MPStaffMemberAMA That is really good to hear. For obvious reasons I think there should be a strong local connection. I cannot abide this parachuting in nonsense.

Thank you for your work. It’s a heartfelt thanks as one of your colleagues plus an excellent MP helped enormously with a nightmare of a situation. It was solved in two days followed by a lovely letter a few months later to see if everything was ok.

As has been said in the media elsewhere, the civil service run the country as much as the government and that doesn't change depending on the party. So I would first look there for the lack of innovative solutions to decades old problems. If you do what you always do you'll get what you've always got. And I say that as someone who's worked in it. Poor management culture (why I left) and zero accountability. It all falls on the government's shoulders.

On a wider point, the country has been skint since 2007 and the credit crunch. That's 2 decades of thinly stretched services, a lack of money for growth, no investment, robbing Peter to pay Paul. You can't make something out of nothing. We need to create things to sell abroad for a profit: energy, services, products whatever people want to buy. Or we'll have nothing to invest back.

Brexit put us back 10 years on immigration but we do need a system that is empathetic but economic growth focused.

10% pension contribution which is nowhere near the 27% civil service contribution. Plus lower salaries because of tight staffing budgets. Plus job insecurity if your Member loses their seat all staff members are made redundant.

Logically yes, but I work for a constituency, then a person, then a party, then job security. So if you have a arsehole boss in your home town safe seat vs next city brilliant boss in a swing seat it's a more complicated choice. I'm lucky everything aligns for me. But there's lots of remote working so you can pick and choose more since Covid

Can you tell us about the level of incompetence as from the outside it looks like a complete shit show - or is that too telling?

They are strictly no donations. Not even a free cup of tea.

If you actually want an office that is decent and staffed by well qualified people that exceeds IPSA budgets. Our office is falling apart but it's a great location with a great landlord. It's embarrassing for guests but at least they don't think we're wasting tax payers money on glitzy offices! Lots get stuff second hand.

If you want private sector calibre staff you might want donations towards paying them properly.

If you want to send party political comms e.g. letters or newsletters IPSA don't fund it so you need donations.

I think my Member would take donations for comns (and declare it) but is unimpressed with glitzy offices.

Me too. You're representing your constituency, not only your party. But I can understand why it happens as some parachuted in MPs are very good. They just come from an overcrowded pool!

Thank you. That is so lovely to hear. Our team had another death threat this week (yes it's only Tuesday!) when we were trying to help someone in arrears and have already managed to get a hold on chasing them in place. But still it wasn't enough as apparently we should have picked up voicemails over the weekend...

In my team absolutely zero. It's the best team I've ever worked in in my 30 year career and they are absolute superstars.

The main issue is inconsistency. There is no actual job description for an MP so they make it up as they go along. Badly in some cases but often well meant. There's also little accountability so if your MP is shit and ignores constituents you have to wait for the next election to get rid of them. Look at the leader of the Reform Party. A massive breach of the rules and worst case scenario is a recall petition and another costly by election. But the people of Clacton get what they vote for and will re-elect him.

So that inconsistency and accountability is frustrating but my Member is excellent so I'm insulted from it.

Incompetency is often people not doing what you would expect, but with unclear, unwritten expectations - sometimes literally polar opposite opinions - what do you do? My Member gets abuse for spending too much time in Parliament when they should be in the constituency. Then get stopped in the constituency and told off for not being in Parliament standing up for the constituency!

Thanks for answering and I can now see why my colleague didn’t go for it, they’re in their 50’s now and looking ahead to retirement. Our organisation put in 30% and basically offer job security once you’re on a permanent contract (OBVIOUSLY you may be dismissed etc for a big breach of some kind but I’ve never known it happen). Also a very good and competitive salary.

A second question if I may? Do you have something lined up in the background ‘just in case’ anything happens to your MP? It seems like quite a vulnerable role in many ways.

Wow, what a brilliant AMA! Thank you :)

Do you tend to think the majority of politicians are in it for the right reasons?
And, for those that want to bring about change, what do you see as their biggest barrier to making it happen?
And then finally, do you think the first past the post system is internally regarded as fit for purpose?