Work experience with Parliament

Last week, Jess H and I had the incredible opportunity to undertake a three-day work experience placement with our local Member of Parliament, Victoria Collins MP, and her dedicated team. Working alongside the office staff and students from other schools, we were fully immersed in parliamentary politics and local campaigning.

We began our first day by working on constituency casework. Casework involves handling the correspondence and emails that constituents send to Victoria regarding local and national issues. This gave us a firsthand look at the range of challenges facing our community. We learned how an MP’s team works behind the scenes to help resolve problems for residents.

On the second day, we travelled to Westminster for an unforgettable day in London. We began with a tour of the parliamentary estate, followed by the opportunity to watch the historic Speaker’s Procession. Afterward, we headed to the House of Commons gallery to observe a live debate, where we spotted several high-profile politicians in action. A highlight of the day was sitting down for lunch with Victoria to discuss her role, followed by an afternoon task where we drafted Early Day Motions (EDMs), which are formal proposals used by MPs to draw attention to specific campaigns or events.

For our final day, we became campaign interns with the Liberal Democrats. We got a taste of grassroots politics by participating in a phone banking session, calling previous supporters to see if they would be interested in volunteering for upcoming local campaigns. It was an engaging and eye-opening experience that allowed us to speak with a wide variety of people holding diverse political perspectives.

Overall, this experience was incredibly rewarding. We gained insights into how our democracy works, showing us that politics is just as much about helping people on a local level as it is about debating in the House of Commons. We left with a much deeper appreciation for public service and skills for the future.