It’s a common refrain amongst political commentators that the current generation of MPs are the worst that we have ever had.
It’s common, but it’s not necessarily true, and it is a view that is given about every class of parliamentarians at some point after every election.
As I’ve previously said the truth is more complex, for every serious, top-class politician there are plenty of back benchers who do an admirable job but, realistically, unless they show immoral amounts of loyalty will never be worthy of junior ministerial office on merit alone.
What is, I think, undoubtedly true is that in a social media age many MPs have forgotten their primary aim, that of being a legislator.
Especially with a new government that has been in opposition for 14 years there is a huge legislative programme to be enacted. An MP’s primary job, indeed some might say their only job, is to scrutinise and shape that legislation. To offer support to government (or to hold it to account), to table amendments, to work on bill committees, and, even to table their own private member’s bills or 10 minute rule bills.
An MP’s job is to legislate.
And it should be a full time job.
Instead the sort of post below has become all too commonplace.
Now, genuinely, this isn’t a criticism of Oliver Ryan MP. I am sure he is a hard working, diligent constituency MP. Rather it is a comment on the culture of casework.
It is simply impossible, in the case of Mr Ryan, that all of those 7,500 cases that he mentions relate to casework that can reasonably assist him in improving legislation. Impossible.
There will be cases where constituents are unhappy with the legitimately made decisions of their local council. It’s not an MP’s job to challenge those legitimately made decisions, but potentially the job of local, democratically elected councillors.
Similarly, there will be cases where the constituent could and should have sought legal advice from a solicitor or Citizen’s Advice Bureau, once again not the job of an MP.
Or, as is often the case, it can be to resolve a neighbour dispute or dissatisfaction with a builder.
Too often, an MP is used as either a signpost or an arbitrator. And clearly, this is not their job, contributing to the creation of legislation is.
When working in Westminster I heard about a Member of Parliament who was conscious about the size of their majority and the need to mollify constituents taking on every piece of meaningless casework, when one day they asked a staffer to liaise with the constituency office of a long standing parliamentary big beast in a neighbouring constituency about taking on a piece of casework.
The long serving secretary who worked for that big beast told the enquiring staffer in no uncertain terms that ‘absolutely not’, they would not be taking on the casework. It was not the MP’s job to take on all and sundry, but only the work that assisted him in doing the job he was paid to do: writing and improving law.
If you think about it, MPs have an important job that should not to be diluted with other work which, whilst being important to the constituent, nevertheless really is of no consequence to what being a Member of Parliament is all about.
Of course, imagine an MP telling all of the above to a constituent who has legitimately been issued with a council tax summons, and that they should make representations to their councillor. Imagine the constituent, inevitably, taking to social media with cries that the MP doesn’t care. Imagine the MP in a marginal seat worrying about their mortgage and being out of a job next time there is an election.
Imagine all of those things and you can see why Mr Ryan, and countless others, talk about the casework loads they and their office process.
But it really isn’t their job.
We don’t go into a supermarket and ask the checkout assistant to rustle up tea for us, rightly they would say no, and we wouldn’t expect it. Rustling up tea isn’t their job.
If we understand the role of supermarket staff and accept it, we should be doing exactly the same with such an important job as being a legislator.