1st October 2026 3:50 pm
The Working for an MP website is a resource for anyone working for a British Member of Parliament or with an interest in how Parliament works. You can read about the site’s history, or get in touch with suggestions or feedback, or find out about the help and advice available to staff from the House of Commons, including the IGCS Behaviour Code. It is also home to the UK’s largest listing of political jobs, at w4mpjobs.
Field Notes
We have a new section of the site for short topical briefings, giving background on some of the issues that staff may be asked about. Please let us know what you think, and suggest topics we could cover.
Read them in the Field Notes section
Social
Follow us on Bluesky at w4mp.bsky.social. We can also be found on Facebook and remain as @w4mpsite on X/Twitter but don’t actively post there.
Latest News
- Ordering wreaths for Armistice Day or Remembrance SundayIf you would like to order a wreath for Armistice Day or Remembrance Sunday, you can do so by contacting the Royal British Legion directly: https://www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/ways-to-give/shop/wreaths They are able to provide a portcullis badge for the centre of the wreath, but you…
- Public Service Ombudsman – Complaints Champions WorkshopOpen to Members of Parliament and their staff. The Public Service Ombudsman (formerly known as the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman) independently investigates complaints about UK government departments, other public organisations, and the NHS in England. Complaining can be complicated for some people.…
- DigiHub Launch – 1 October 2026PDS is launching the new DigiHub is launching on Thursday 1 October 2026 to make it easier to access digital support, services and information in one place. DigiHub will be the new online place to get help with IT, request digital services,…
- Nominations Open for Women in Westminster: The 100 2027The House invites the public to nominate the women shaping politics, policy and public life Nominations are now open for Women in Westminster: The 100 2027. The public is invited to nominate the inspirational and influential women making an impact across politics,…
- Security Awareness TalksThe Security Awareness Programme offers a range of sessions open to all passholders. You’ll hear from members of the Parliamentary Security Department (PSD), senior leaders, and guest speakers. Sessions cover a wide variety of topics, including: The skills and knowledge you gain…
- Staying Human Under PressureTime: 1430 – 1530Date: Thursday 1 October 2026Location: Online via MS Teams www.flourishprojec.net www.wendyellyatt.com Please join us to watch Wendy Ellyatt’s presentation, “Staying Human Under Pressure”, which will explore how Parliament can move beyond individual resilience towards creating healthier, more humane working cultures. Drawing…
w4mp and ParliNet
ParliNet, available to those with a parliamentary login, contains everything you need to stay connected to the parliamentary community. Use it to find information like catering menus, events, contact numbers, and the latest news. If you find any links on w4mp to the old intranet, please let us know.
To access the hotlines on Parlinet you can follow this direct link. To search the document use the SharePoint search box by typing CTRL-F / CMD-F.
Are you OK?
Are you OK? How are you coping? Do you need to talk to someone?
An MP’s office can be a busy and stressful environment at the best of times, and over the past few weeks, staff have been under a lot of extra pressure.
The work we do can put a strain on our mental health and wellbeing, and we can often feel isolated. If you are finding it difficult to cope, or just need someone to talk to, or somewhere to offload, please remember that help is available.
The Wellness Working Group offers lots of useful information advice and you can access their hub here: https://hopuk.sharepoint.com/sites/hct-wellbeinghub
Please ring the helpline and talk to someone. It’s what it’s there for.
Health Assured provides an independent support service to MPs’ staff, it is completely confidential, free and can be accessed 24/7 by phone, online portal and app. You can access support for any issue you are struggling with, it doesn’t have to be work related. Look here for further information, their helpline number and a link to access the service: https://hopuk.sharepoint.com/sites/hct-wellbeinghub/SitePages/What-suport-is-there-.aspx
What we do at w4mp
Read a welcome to the site from Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons
Archived guides can be found on the w4mp archive. They should not be relied on as expressions of current practice.
Our humourous alt.guides can be found on alt.w4mp.org, along with an archive of Hoby cartoons.
“The MPs’ assistants and researchers walk at twice the pace of everyone else and their eyes burn twice as fiercely” John Crace, The Guardian, 14 May 2015
Header image cropped from Wikimedia Commons image by user:Colin CC BY-SA-4.0
