Member News
By Tony Grew - 21st September 2010
MPs are expected to be managers, community leaders, super-councillors, asylum experts, financial advisers and D list celebrities, a fringe meeting heard last night.
The Hansard Society and Institute of Government event, entitled "Jack of all trades: How can MPs fulfil all their roles?", was chaired by Peter Riddell.
Jo Swinson said the range of roles that MPs are expected to fill is daunting and she works on average 88 hours a week, two-thirds in Westminter and the rest in her East Dunbartonshire constituency.
There is also no proper training, career development or management appraisal and naturally some MPs are stronger in some areas than others.
Swinson also pointed out that PPCs are also expected to juggle multiple roles, usually while trying to hold down a job, and some become burned out.
Also, an MP's leaves little time for family life.
David Heath, deputy leader of the House of Commons, joked about sometimes being a D list celebrity, asked to open a local supermarket when no-one else will do it.
Heath said Lib Dem MPs tend to emphasise their campaigning role rather than their legislative duties.
He told the fringe there is a crisis in democracy because of the disconnect between MPs and the voters, which has come about because of a loss of focus, accountability and relevance.
Parliamentarians are "cocooned" in a world of their own but that is beginning to change.
The Commons now allows backbenchers some input via the backbench business committee.
Heath said he wants parliament to become more efficient and more responsive to the concerns of voters and stop "wasting time on things that don't matter".
He also highlighted this year's September sitting as a move in the right direction and said MPs should have the power to initiate inquiries.
Julian Huppert, new MP for Cambridge, said his impressions of Westminster so far are a cross between Gormenghast and Hogwarts. In his last role as an academic scientist he understood what his job entailed.
There is no job description for an MP, but the job has become more multi-faceted than it was 40 years ago - Huppert said he has 400 cases a week to deal with, while legislation has become more complex.
He bemoaned the lack of diversity among MPs, with many of them coming from legal, media, PR or political backgrounds - he is only one of two members with a science PhD.
Guardian journalist Jackie Ashley told the fringe she has been observing MPs at work since she was 11 and her dad Jack became an MP - she has also been reporting from Westminster for 25 years.
The role has changed dramatically, she said.
40 years ago many MPs would go to another job in the morning, come to the Commons at 2.30pm and roll into the voting lobbies at 10pm having had a nice dinner and drinks, a "very unprofessional" atmosphere.
Ashley said there are still plenty of MPs today who have an easy life and some of them are lazy.
She suggested there should be a job description for the role and every MP should have a proper website where they tell their constituents what they have been up to.
She also pointed out that some MPs have a very heavy caseload and that is not reflected in the allocation of staff resources.
Ashley also pointed out that many MPs have a much more prominent media role and should be given media training.
Jo Swinson said she is amazeed at the access she now has to ministers as a government backbencher.
The Hansard Society and Institute of Government will be hosting the same event at the Labour and Tory party conferences.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd
Gerald Phillips
21st Sep 2010 at 6:15 pm