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Neither here nor there - an intern's Parliamentary Journey
Updated: 28 June 2010
Added: 19 September 2008
W4MP is often approached by interns, working for an MP, who are looking for a bit of support and advice. An internship at Westminster can be a very worthwhile experience but it can also prove pretty daunting and lonely. We feel that the article which follows, which we asked a recent intern to write, is a fair reflection of the experience of many interns.
Following the article is a link to a response by Adam Leeder, the Interns Officer of the TGWU/Unite Parliamentary Branch. We have also added a link to the advice we at W4MP give to MPs and organisations who advertise internships on our Jobs page.
UPDATE 28 June 2010: Have a look, too, at the guides we did for new staff
after the 2010 Election,
A guide to managing good internships
at
www.w4mp.org/html/library/2010booklet/managers.asp
and
A guide to getting the best out of your internship at
www.w4mp.org/html/library/2010booklet/interns.asp.
First impressions
When I first became an intern I was extremely proud, and as eager as a young whippet to take advantage of all the things that I believed Parliament was going to offer me. I looked forward to meeting large numbers of my Party concentrated together for the first time, I keenly awaited the absorption of a set of new skills that would better equip me for the starry heights of a paid job afterwards, and I anticipated feeling a valued member of a community with a rich and illustrious history. Things did eventually turn out like that, but only after a larger amount of blood, sweat and tears than I had considered. This is my tale of woe and redemption.
Finances
The initial most pressing difficulty which faced me was one of finance. Having committed to working in Parliament for five days a week, I had to find an additional, remunerative occupation if I was to survive. My tiredness from this extra work inhibited both my ability to undertake my job to the best of my potential in Parliament, and to take full advantage of the social aspects of these hallowed halls. Unfortunately I found that the paying of my expenses was not seen as a priority by the Parliamentary system and was sometimes delayed. The present system of submitting and receiving expenses in Parliament may work fine for people who have a regular income, but not for those of us who have consistently more money going out than coming in. Another shock I received early on was when I realized that if I was not happy with something, I was in a position of very little power to change it. I had no contract, no body representing me, no person to turn to for help outside my immediate co-workers. I also found that interns were treated in entirely different ways. Many were worse off than me and some were even paid no expenses at all. Many were also unfamiliar with London and were commuting vast distances or living out of suitcases. I found it increasingly frustrating to be poor, on the inside, and looking out at the public perception of Parliament as one big gravy train.
Getting a pass
Another early problem I had was concerning my pass. Pass allocation seems rather arbitrary: the shortest time that I have heard an intern waiting to receive a pass, is about a week, the longest an incredible five months. Not having a pass is exquisitely tiresome and prevents you from taking advantage of many things in Parliament immediately. For example, you need to wait for your researcher to move around anywhere during the day so that you may accompany them, and your opportunities to socialize are limited to those events that your researcher has chosen to attend. As an alarming number of researchers I met were rather cliquey and at times brazenly condescending to interns, this is not always an ideal situation. What frustrated me most about getting my pass was how much contradictory and conflicting information was presented to me. Some people told me that I would not have to wait if only I got my MP to write a covering letter. Others told me to get two referees to write on my behalf, and so on. I also found that access to training for interns was extremely limited. This especially discouraged me, as training and learning new skills is one of the main reasons that many interns have taken their posts in the first place. There must be some tangible benefits in it for us; MPs are getting well-educated, politically interested, bright and enthusiastic individuals to work for them for free. I found working in Parliament as an intern to be rather like entering a rather exclusive club, which you have grovelled to get into, but upon entering you find to be run along Kafkaesque lines.
Need for reform
Despite an array of tribulations, I never forgot that I was one of the ‘lucky ones’. So many talented people do not even entertain the possibility of applying for an internship because they would not be able to afford it. It is frustrating enough how few young people are interested in politics without making it hard for those of modest means to get involved. So far, every researcher I have met was an intern and every political advisor I have met was a researcher. Many MPs I have met were both. If we want a more diverse range of people to be our next generation of political leaders, a reform of the internship system would seem to me to be an obvious and fruitful place to start.
It does get better
Things did gradually get better for me owing to a wide variety of factors. Firstly, the kindness of individuals who helped: the researchers who bought me pints; the people behind the W4MP website, whom I contacted for advice. Secondly, because once you get a pass many things become easier. Thirdly, because your problems are generally not due to people being nasty, just ignorant of your predicament. Finally, because you gradually meet other interns, who either give you tips or at least make you feel less alone with your difficulties. However, I think the main difference is that my attitude changed. I am industrious by nature and don’t let opportunities pass me by. I stopped asking everyone what I could and couldn’t do in Parliament: no one really knows, and sometimes the rules seem to be exercised on a purely arbitrary basis. I also learnt just to be persistent. For example some Parliamentary training was organized for interns and then cancelled three times. Each time I made sure that my name was on the new attendee list and eventually my efforts bore fruit and I gained both some useful information and some bonus points for my CV. Also, don’t assume that events which are listed as being only for researchers actually are really only for them. Some researchers told me about an event they had been invited to and I had not. I thought that it sounded fun, a good networking opportunity and a chance to drink at someone else’s expense in a fashion that my non-existent intern’s salary does not normally afford me. So I wrote to the organization and they sent me a ticket with no trouble at all. Another tip is to bring in some friends to see where you work. Their reactions will remind you again how privileged you are to be here and stop you taking even the little things for granted. Also, just speaking to someone extremely familiar in an environment that is still rather strange, really does make you feel better.
Interns' Group
Another important change has been that during my time here people have started to take more notice of interns as a group. This happened for me first at a party level, where a researcher just arranged for a big group of interns to go to lunch together at the same time. This worked brilliantly, put me in touch with some new and interesting people, and perhaps most importantly for an intern, was entirely free. An even more exciting development has been that the TGWU Union has now set up an interns’ network, and a mentoring scheme has also been established. Aside from the practical benefits that such initiatives bring me and others, I think their real worth is just by showing interns that someone, (at risk of sounding too sentimental) actually cares about them.
Conclusion
The main problem about the intern system is that there is so little central organization and therefore the experience that people have depends so much on their immediate boss and their own self-assurance. Interns are in a curious limbo land: without us Parliament would work less well, but we are never truly accepted as part of it. Hence the, ‘Neither here nor there’, of my title. I have been lucky enough to work for a researcher who is decent, and not to care about being a bit bolshie and demanding when it comes to what I can get out of Parliament, but many people are not in this situation. The experience of each intern should not be a personal struggle. Once bad practice is identified, changes need to be made across the board but, essentially, the system as it currently operates is a sort of lottery. Most people muddle by, but most also, I suspect, do not get as much out of their time here as they should be entitled to.
AS July 2008
Now read a
response by
Adam Leeder,
Interns Officer of the TGWU/Unite Parliamentary Branch.
Click here to read the advice we at W4MP give to MPs
and organisations who advertise internships on our Jobs
page
You can also