Member of Parliament (UK): Difference between revisions
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In principle, anyone can become a Member of Parliament provided that he or she is aged 18 or over, a citizen of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland, and not a [[/Addendum#Disqualification for membership of the House of Commons|disqualified person]] (such as a government employee, or a member of the House of Lords). All that is necessary to stand for election is a nomination paper signed by ten voters, and a £500 deposit. Membership of a political party is not necessary, but it is almost impossible to mount an effective election campaign without party support. Selection as a party candidate is a two-stage process because the central organisations of United Kingdom political parties maintain lists of people who have passed their vetting procedures, from which local party committees are expected to choose their prospective parliamentary candidates. Election campaigns last three or four weeks, during which candidates and their supporters do what they can to get their message across to the voters. There are legal limits of £10,000 to £12,000 on the amounts that can be spent for that purpose<ref>[http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/12/notes/contents ''Political Parties and Elections Act 2009'', legislation.gov.uk]</ref>, so campaigning depends heavily on volunteers. Voting is on a simple first past the post system. | In principle, anyone can become a Member of Parliament provided that he or she is aged 18 or over, a citizen of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland, and not a [[/Addendum#Disqualification for membership of the House of Commons|disqualified person]] (such as a government employee, or a member of the House of Lords). All that is necessary to stand for election is a nomination paper signed by ten voters, and a £500 deposit. Membership of a political party is not necessary, but it is almost impossible to mount an effective election campaign without party support. Selection as a party candidate is a two-stage process because the central organisations of United Kingdom political parties maintain lists of people who have passed their vetting procedures, from which local party committees are expected to choose their prospective parliamentary candidates. Election campaigns last three or four weeks, during which candidates and their supporters do what they can to get their message across to the voters. There are legal limits of £10,000 to £12,000 on the amounts that can be spent for that purpose<ref>[http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/12/notes/contents ''Political Parties and Elections Act 2009'', legislation.gov.uk]</ref>, so campaigning depends heavily on volunteers. Voting is on a simple first past the post system. | ||
==Constituency | ==Constituency work== | ||
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My experience shows that in my 10 months (full financial year) of Parliament as an MP, my office dealt with over 39,400 pieces of communication (c24,000 emails, 9,600 letters, and 4,800 telephone calls) as well as 2,183 constituents’ cases.” | |||
Craig Whittaker, the new MP for Calder Valley, in his written submission to the Joint Committee on the Draft House of Lords Reform Bill, in which he writes: | |||
“My experience shows that in my 10 months (full financial year) of Parliament as an MP, my office dealt with over 39,400 pieces of communication (c24,000 emails, 9,600 letters, and 4,800 telephone calls) as well as 2,183 constituents’ cases.” | |||
The staffing allowance for each MP for 2010-11 is £105 thousand<ref>[http://www.parliament.uk/documents/foi/201100622-V4-10-11-Headlines-Figures-Report.pdf ''Members' allowances expenditure April 2010'',{</ref> | |||
<ref>[http://www.parliament.uk/education/online-resources/videos/mps-in-their-own-words/mp-surgery/ ''The constituency surgery '' (videos), www.parliament.gov.uk]</ref> | |||
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==Parliamentary duties== | ==Parliamentary duties== | ||
Revision as of 09:56, 25 February 2012
The professional career of a Member of Parliament normally begins when he or she finds a parliamentary constituency in which the selection committee of the local branch of a political party is willing to adopt him or her as their prospective parliamentary candidate. After being elected to the House of Commons, parliamentary loyalties are acquired, but constituency loyalties cannot be set aside.
Getting elected
In principle, anyone can become a Member of Parliament provided that he or she is aged 18 or over, a citizen of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland, and not a disqualified person (such as a government employee, or a member of the House of Lords). All that is necessary to stand for election is a nomination paper signed by ten voters, and a £500 deposit. Membership of a political party is not necessary, but it is almost impossible to mount an effective election campaign without party support. Selection as a party candidate is a two-stage process because the central organisations of United Kingdom political parties maintain lists of people who have passed their vetting procedures, from which local party committees are expected to choose their prospective parliamentary candidates. Election campaigns last three or four weeks, during which candidates and their supporters do what they can to get their message across to the voters. There are legal limits of £10,000 to £12,000 on the amounts that can be spent for that purpose[1], so campaigning depends heavily on volunteers. Voting is on a simple first past the post system.