The Live Wire

Welcome

Build your political work experience, join the Interns’ Network

The IN is a non-partisan community of about 1000 interns, volunteers and others who work in the Westminster 'village'. Free to join and open to all, the IN is a means by which people (sometimes like-minded, sometimes not!) can get to know one another and share valuable knowledge, advice and experience.

Advertising internships

If you’re looking for an internship, be it with an MP, an MEP, think-tank, pressure group, public affairs firm, or any other organisation that might broadly be termed part of the 'policy community', we can help. The IN provides members with an in-depth weekly briefing on jobs opportunities around Westminster. We also work with employers to ensure that internships are advertised openly and filled by fair, meritocratic means. It remains the case that access to many of the best political internships for recent graduates is determined by informal contacts and not by merit. The fact that a large number of MPs, think-tanks and other such employers now advertise work placements under the auspices of w4mp and IN is something we hope will make your quest for an internship, and ultimately a job, that much easier. Email internsinfo@yahoo.co.uk to sign up for your weekly jobs briefings.

Living in London, working in Westminster

Another important function of the IN involves working to make the life of the intern, after they have actually secured themselves a placement of some kind, as enjoyable and comfortable as possible. Political internships are often inaccessible to those who do not live in London, or who do not have the financial means to support themselves whilst working for free. We seek to find ways around this by pooling what resources we have!

IN weekly briefings list the rooms to let that come our way. To get them sent straight to your inbox, email internsinfo@yahoo.co.uk or visit www.internsnetwork.org.uk.

Ethical internships

The IN's campaign for 'ethical internships' asks that employers should cover reasonable travel and subsistence costs, in recognition that working without pay in London is expensive as it is. We are also working with employers, many of whom have adopted in full the terms of our ethical internships, towards the formal establishment of interns’ bursaries. Employers that adopt the terms of our ethical internships are rewarded with publicity on our popular web site. Interns and others can also use our web portal and advice lines for information about living in London, to ease the pursuit of London accommodation that is as cheap and comfortable as possible.

Another side to ethical internships is the content of the work itself. Internships should be enjoyable, should provide an interesting blend of work including some substantive research, and hours should be reasonable. Members of the network can share their experiences of internships and what they entail with other IN members at our regular events and on the website.

For more information on ethical internships and to learn and share information about internships and accommodation, visit www.internsnetwork.org.uk.

Good luck!

Good luck looking for an internship! We hope the IN will make finding one that bit easier. For more information, do visit our website, a 'one stop shop' containing all the sorts of information discussed above. And we look forward to seeing you at one our regular social events!

The Interns' Network Team

» www.internsnetwork.org.uk

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