Behind the Scenes: What I Learned from My Work Experience with an MP
Guest Blogpost
Author: Georgina, Year 12 student
My week in the Poole Constituency Office
My week with Neil Duncan-Jordan and his dedicated team has been amazing. This unique opportunity has helped me to understand the inner workings of politics and the behind-the-scenes work that you do not see in the media. The passionate and welcoming team tailored my week around my interest in journalism and helped to feed my love for politics. From shadowing members of staff with casework and taking a trip to Westminster where I watched Prime Ministers Questions, I have had an insight into the real-life working of politics at both local and national level.
In the office
This cultivated week has included writing press releases, blog posts, news articles and looking at communication through social media. This was fascinating; I was able to contribute to conversations with my ideas and I was taken seriously. This level of involvement is what sets it apart from other work experiences. This was a fast paced environment which brought new learning opportunities at every corner with the work changing frequently and no day being the same.
On Friday, we visited Bournemouth and Poole college where Neil, accompanied with his band, opened a new recording studio at the college. They recorded a song with help from the students and this was an eye opening experience as they were so well equipped and talented. This was a fantastic opportunity to understand the importance of building relationships with their constituents but also highlighting the need for community engagement. It was good to see how this linked in with the need for an improvement in the national curriculum and to help students who are involved in arts and music.
We finished the week off with the constituency surgery, which provided an ideal opportunity listen to constituents and to understand their problems and how the office, alongside Neil, handle these issues. This was a valuable experience in showing how politicians need this direct communication to create meaningful change.
My trip to Westminster
On the Wednesday of my week, we took a trip to Westminster to watch Prime Ministers Questions. Watching this was a surreal experience; listening to how questions are framed, and the carefully crafted answers was insightful as to how things work on a day-to-day basis in Westminster. This visit made it feel as though working in Westminster was a more achievable aim for the future than what I originally thought.
It was an opportunity to talk to many people each with different jobs and different journeys to get to where they are today and was brilliant to gain a further understanding of routes I could take to develop my future career.
To see Neil advocate for his constituents in this setting showed his determination to make Poole a better place whilst also helping the future generation with their love for politics.
What I learnt
I learnt more than I could have imagined in this short space of time. I got to develop my writing skills as well as my understanding of the political landscape. The most crucial thing I learnt is how to interact with people both in the workplace but also on a personal level. Lastly, I learnt that there is so much more to the job of an MP and their office than first meets the eye.