Administration Committee
Tuesday 16th June 2026
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10:11
10:12
10:12
Speaker 1
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Speaker 1
Okay. Thank you. Um, so I want to sort of preface my remarks today by saying huge thanks to everybody who's involved in inducting new MPs. You know, when we came in, obviously it was overwhelming, but we did hear from people who were inducted many years previously saying how amazing it is now in comparison to then, and I really appreciate that. So although I'll be sharing some suggestions for kind of room for improvement, it's within the context of really recognising and appreciating all of the support that is already in place and the huge efforts that everybody goes to.
Um, I think it's fair to say that, um, our experience as new MPs was pretty overwhelming. Um, there was, it was really lovely, the hand-holding that was in place. For example, the buddy at the start, um, somebody kind of leading you around. Lots of things happened really efficiently issuing of it and so forth. But there are some huge areas where for new MPs, including setting up a constituency office, getting staff in place, coping with the huge influx of the tsunami of emails that you receive, both from constituents and from thousands of organisations who all want you to be their best friend, attend their drop in, etc., etcetera, and makes it, you know, a huge amount of things to juggle right at the start and then finding a place to stay in London, coping with childcare arrangements for people with caring responsibilities and so forth.
And so we, you know, we, we felt, well, speaking particularly personally, but I have consulted with colleagues in my group about this, very appreciative of the support that is in place. But we do have some practical suggestions for how that could be made more easy. We ourselves as a group benefited very much from inheriting a few members of staff who had previously worked with Caroline Lucas, so there was a huge amount of institutional memory for our group and support. So they were our main source of support in, you know, hitting the ground.
But the practicalities of setting up offices, getting caseworker MP working, etcetera, etcetera, um, were things where I think there are, there are things that could be improved in terms of the support.
Um, I think it's fair to say that, um, our experience as new MPs was pretty overwhelming. Um, there was, it was really lovely, the hand-holding that was in place. For example, the buddy at the start, um, somebody kind of leading you around. Lots of things happened really efficiently issuing of it and so forth. But there are some huge areas where for new MPs, including setting up a constituency office, getting staff in place, coping with the huge influx of the tsunami of emails that you receive, both from constituents and from thousands of organisations who all want you to be their best friend, attend their drop in, etc., etcetera, and makes it, you know, a huge amount of things to juggle right at the start and then finding a place to stay in London, coping with childcare arrangements for people with caring responsibilities and so forth.
And so we, you know, we, we felt, well, speaking particularly personally, but I have consulted with colleagues in my group about this, very appreciative of the support that is in place. But we do have some practical suggestions for how that could be made more easy. We ourselves as a group benefited very much from inheriting a few members of staff who had previously worked with Caroline Lucas, so there was a huge amount of institutional memory for our group and support. So they were our main source of support in, you know, hitting the ground.
But the practicalities of setting up offices, getting caseworker MP working, etcetera, etcetera, um, were things where I think there are, there are things that could be improved in terms of the support.
10:14
Speaker 2
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Speaker 2
And I would totally agree with that. You know, the buddy system for me worked well for that first week. Um, but I would say as well with, with regards to the induction that I would really have appreciated revisiting this in three months time. And I know with the general election was in a, was in an awkward time really in that it was at the beginning of July, we were off for summer recess. We were back for three weeks. We were off then for conference recess, but I think revisiting, um, as somebody who had no knowledge of how legislation, for example, was, uh, was presented to Parliament and how the system of going through the legislation, I would have really appreciated revisiting that, um, say in October or November to gain an understanding.
Because when you land here, you're the practical issues are what you focus on. Um, the information or the knowledge that you need to be an effective MP sort of beds in a little bit later really after you've sorted out, as you were saying, your office, your staff, and all the practical issues and the fact that, you know, it was in October really after the conference recess when we were allocated offices. So up to that time we were working, I was working in the library in Derby Gate down downstairs there.
Um, so it's practical issues that would have been fantastic if we could have sorted offices out a little bit sooner rather than actually working in portcullis House. Lovely as it is, but it's not the best place to have some peace and quiet and some thinking time.
Because when you land here, you're the practical issues are what you focus on. Um, the information or the knowledge that you need to be an effective MP sort of beds in a little bit later really after you've sorted out, as you were saying, your office, your staff, and all the practical issues and the fact that, you know, it was in October really after the conference recess when we were allocated offices. So up to that time we were working, I was working in the library in Derby Gate down downstairs there.
Um, so it's practical issues that would have been fantastic if we could have sorted offices out a little bit sooner rather than actually working in portcullis House. Lovely as it is, but it's not the best place to have some peace and quiet and some thinking time.
10:15
10:16
Speaker 2
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Speaker 2
I'm going to be perfectly honest with you. I didn't think any further than Election Day, and I don't know if everybody else was in the same situation, but that was my mine. I wanted to get to to Election Day. And then, you know, the realization, oh, actually, I've been elected. I've won this election. And then you start thinking, oh, right, okay, here we go then. So so for me, I didn't think about the after. It was just, you know, it felt right to, to stand.
Um, and it was the right thing to do. And it was just the practical issues then that came afterwards. So with regards to once you landed here, I would say that I was very, very fortunate in that one of Ben Lakes ex staff who was, who wasn't working for Ben at that time, really helped me enormously. He was based in Carmarthenshire.
Um, and it was the right thing to do. And it was just the practical issues then that came afterwards. So with regards to once you landed here, I would say that I was very, very fortunate in that one of Ben Lakes ex staff who was, who wasn't working for Ben at that time, really helped me enormously. He was based in Carmarthenshire.