Working for a Member of Parliament (AMA)

17

Hey there, so I've been working for a MP in their constituency office (as a Caseworker) for 18 months now. I know when I first applied for the job I wasn't entirely sure what the role of a Caseworker entailed and how I could best support the MP in carrying out their duties and functions.

I have therefore created this forum to assist students/graduates who are interested in learning more about a career in politics.

Please ask away!

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 1

Kutie Karen

19

That's a great opportunity. What did you do on a typical day? Did you enjoy it?

Reply 2

Zarek

21

Is the corporate culture as bad as portrayed

Reply 3

04MR17

Volunteer Team, Clearing and Applications Advisor

22

Do you have 14 thousand A*s at GCSE?

Reply 4

the bear

20

when you have finished your Panettone do you use the box for keeping things in ?

Reply 5

megster1

OP

17

Original post by Kutie Karen

That's a great opportunity. What did you do on a typical day? Did you enjoy it?

Hey there, thanks for your question.

On a typical day, I am responsible for answering and responding to a wide range of constituent enquiries (anything from not being able to access a GP appointment to changes in the local bus timetable), whether these are made by telephone, e-mail or in writing. In order to resolve casework matters, it is often necessary to communicate with the Local Authority, a Government Minister/Department, a local constituency organisation, etc. When we do have an answer to give to the constituent, this is usually done in writing (so I write a letter on behalf of the MP who then signs it off when they are happy with it).

On other days, I accompany the MP to surgery appointments or other meetings and take notes on their behalf.

Again though, I would emphasise that I am a Caseworker in a constituency office. We do have a Parliamentary Assistant who is based in Westminster so their duties are a lot different than mine. Their work primarily centres around addressing policy concerns/queries.

You can also work directly for a Government department (e.g. the Department for Environment, Food and Industrial Strategy), in which case you would only be answering correspondence relating to your Department's specialism.

In answer to your second question, I do enjoy it! Sometimes it is tough if you can't get a good result for a constituent, however when you do manage to get a good result, it is very rewarding and you feel like you have genuinely made a difference!

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 6

megster1

OP

17

Original post by Zarek

Is the corporate culture as bad as portrayed

Good question! I have never experienced the 'corporate culture' as such, this may be because I'm not based in London, I am based in the constituency office. The team in our office is quite small (there's only four of us and we all get along great, I never feel like we are made to compete against each other).

I think this is why it's important to make this thread. People think that a career in politics will be a career of backstabbing your colleagues, working every hour God sends, etc etc. But it isn't! There are lots of different roles available in various locations and it's ultimately up to you how you want to progress!

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 7

megster1

OP

17

Original post by 04MR17

Do you have 14 thousand A*s at GCSE?

Hey MR, I definitely do not! You will be pleased to hear that I only obtained the equivalent of 1 A* at GCSE and that was a BTEC subject.

It is also worth noting that a couple of my colleagues have never been to university.

A career in politics is accessible to anybody and you shouldn't be put off just because you don't satisfy a certain stereotype.

Reply 8

megster1

OP

17

Original post by the bear

when you have finished your Panettone do you use the box for keeping things in ?

I'm ashamed that I have never tried a Panettone :frown:

I will certainly add this to the bucket list lol.

Reply 9

the bear

20

Original post by megster1

I'm ashamed that I have never tried a Panettone :frown:

I will certainly add this to the bucket list lol.

the box will come in useful once you have eaten the delicious contents :h:

Reply 10

megster1

OP

17

Original post by the bear

the box will come in useful once you have eaten the delicious contents :h:

I don't doubt it! Thank you :banana:

Reply 11

Kutie Karen

19

Original post by megster1

Hey there, thanks for your question.

On a typical day, I am responsible for answering and responding to a wide range of constituent enquiries (anything from not being able to access a GP appointment to changes in the local bus timetable), whether these are made by telephone, e-mail or in writing. In order to resolve casework matters, it is often necessary to communicate with the Local Authority, a Government Minister/Department, a local constituency organisation, etc. When we do have an answer to give to the constituent, this is usually done in writing (so I write a letter on behalf of the MP who then signs it off when they are happy with it).

On other days, I accompany the MP to surgery appointments or other meetings and take notes on their behalf.

Again though, I would emphasise that I am a Caseworker in a constituency office. We do have a Parliamentary Assistant who is based in Westminster so their duties are a lot different than mine. Their work primarily centres around addressing policy concerns/queries.

You can also work directly for a Government department (e.g. the Department for Environment, Food and Industrial Strategy), in which case you would only be answering correspondence relating to your Department's specialism.

In answer to your second question, I do enjoy it! Sometimes it is tough if you can't get a good result for a constituent, however when you do manage to get a good result, it is very rewarding and you feel like you have genuinely made a difference!

Sounds great. Do you actually manage to get GP appointments sorted and bus timetables changed? It is not somehting that I would think about bothering the MP with so interested in this

Reply 12

Saracen's Fez

Volunteer Section Leader

20

Does the party the MP belongs to make much difference to your job in the constituency?

Reply 13

megster1

OP

17

Original post by Kutie Karen

Sounds great. Do you actually manage to get GP appointments sorted and bus timetables changed? It is not somehting that I would think about bothering the MP with so interested in this

Sometimes, sometimes not. The bus timetables are a bit tricky as the bus operator is, after all, a private company. Sometimes the local authority is able to step in and subsidise a service though depending on the circumstances. This is where the MP is useful in lobbying the local authority for funding.

I do a lot of the GP/hospital-related enquiries and I've found that GP practices and hospital trusts are usually very quick to accommodate a constituent when they receive an email from the MP's office :wink:

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 14

megster1

OP

17

Original post by Saracen's Fez

Does the party the MP belongs to make much difference to your job in the constituency?

I think it certainly makes a difference when addressing policy-related enquiries. As I work for a Conservative MP, it is no surprise that when we receive a campaign e-mail or an enquiry questioning the Government's record on a particular issue, it would not be appropriate to start criticising the Government when I'm drafting a response (I imagine that it would be quite the opposite if you were working for an opposition MP). To help us address such correspondence, the MP's office subscribes to the 'Policy Research Unit' (which is essentially a group of researchers based in Westminster that churn out pro-Conservative lines on various issues). There's tonnes of lines/paragraphs already available on the website but if you can't find what you're looking for, you can put in a bespoke request. I do know that Labour Party MPs subscribe to an equivalent service but I'm not sure of the name.

(edited 2 years ago)

Reply 15

Sarataxoxo

1

Original post by megster1

Hey there, so I've been working for a MP in their constituency office (as a Caseworker) for 18 months now. I know when I first applied for the job I wasn't entirely sure what the role of a Caseworker entailed and how I could best support the MP in carrying out their duties and functions.
I have therefore created this forum to assist students/graduates who are interested in learning more about a career in politics.
Please ask away!

Hi I know this post was a long time ago ? But I’m interested in how was your interview for it as in what did they ask and the structure off it

Reply 16

courteous-washbo

1

Original post by megster1

Hey there, so I've been working for a MP in their constituency office (as a Caseworker) for 18 months now. I know when I first applied for the job I wasn't entirely sure what the role of a Caseworker entailed and how I could best support the MP in carrying out their duties and functions.
I have therefore created this forum to assist students/graduates who are interested in learning more about a career in politics.
Please ask away!

I have actually got an interview for a caseworker role coming up. I wonder if you could recall what your interview was like, the questions they asked and if you had a task to complete what was it?

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