The challenges of being a remote MP
The impact of the pandemic has weighed heavily on Parliament, says William King
PARLIAMENT, so often humming with activity and intrigue, the myriad corners and offices lurking with plots and mystery, has been far quieter since the coronavirus pandemic hit earlier this year. Although MPs are busy debating and legislating, the Mother of Parliaments is still not the hubbub of political fire it once was.
For the first few weeks of the pandemic, a hybrid Parliament functioned, with MPs peering through Zoom on television screens at Prime Minister’s Questions and other question periods within Parliament, asking pertinent (or not so) questions as appropriate.
This period enabled some wags to comment on the background of various MPs’ Zoom calls: for example, the SNP leader at the House of Commons, Ian Blackford MP, having a curiously large amount of footballs in the background of the shot, and Stephen Kinnock MP, son of Neil, the former Labour leader, seeming to give off a rather donnish air on Zoom.
A sort-of normality was soon restored when Jacob Rees-Mogg MP ordered all MPs back to Parliament, with changes made to ensure social distancing. Since then, Sir Keir Starmer and Boris Johnson have exchanged blows on the matter of the Government’s response to coronavirus, with other issues creeping to the fore occasionally.
Usually, MPs hold surgeries at regular intervals within their constituencies, to allow people to ask for advice and get assistance. These have had to change, with some moving online, and some now being held in person again. Statistics show younger MPs (those under 50) have adapted to this, with 82% of these hosting virtual surgeries. Far fewer aged above 60 have done so, just 41%.
MPs here in the Westcountry have been communicating with constituents and voters online during the pandemic, with Exeter’s Labour MP Ben Bradshaw hosting virtual surgeries to assist constituents. Bradshaw (and other MPs around the country) do occasionally go into the Commons if they have been lucky enough to get on to the ‘Call List’ – a list of MPs who are (un)lucky enough to go into Parliament and question the government in either debate form or to ask questions – but again this is subject to restrictions due to the pandemic.
Luke Pollard, Labour MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, has been active over social media, as well as coordinating the Plymouth Labour Community Action Plan, which drops off essential goods and supplies to people during the pandemic. Simon Jupp,
Conservative MP for East Devon, is also hosting virtual surgeries both over the telephone and online.
Parliamentarians and their staff are carrying out their roles remotely just like the rest of us. To what extent this will carry on and have a long-lasting effect on how Parliament functions, even beyond the pandemic, is not yet clear. With the actual Palace of Westminster in disrepair and current debates on how to fix it ongoing, remote working may help to solve some logistical difficulties.
MPs and their assistants have worked through constituency cases throughout these turbulent times, with their work made more difficult when face-to-face contact is limited. Their work must be emotionally challenging because of the personal loss so many have experienced this year. The onset of the pandemic has seen a large spike in constituents struggling with their mental, physical, and financial health. A survey found 98% of MPs have seen an increase of constituents struggling with financial matters, with 94% of MPs experiencing an increase in complaints local businesses have asked them to resolve.
Half of MPs have said that it has been harder to work effectively remotely with their staff in their Westminster and constituency offices due to the disruption of the pandemic. Communication between the two teams needs to work well, as sets of staff help constituents and to give information to the MP, who then will either speak in Parliament on these concerns, discuss them in committee in Parliament, attempt to resolve them with local resources in the constituency, or write to ministers with their concern.
Many politicians are angry at the reduced role Parliament has had in the pandemic. Although the Government has tried to mollify critics by saying Parliament will have an increased role in scrutinising and implementing decisions, only time will tell how effective this will be.
Parliament can seem alien, and to an extent it is, with arcane and baffling rituals and representatives who may not necessarily reflect the true makeup of British society. But the work of MPs goes on, despite the difficulties of the pandemic. Their casework has increased and so have the difficulties in working in a pandemic.
William King is a politics researcher at the University of Exeter. Some of the data used came from UCL’s Constitution Unit and Cameron Stocker
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