Day 1 (Constituency)
There were 3 other people on the work experience, and we started off the day reading newspapers. We then had to write a briefing to Michael about anything significant. I read the Bournemouth Echo and wrote about coastal erosional processes speeding up. We then discussed 5 scenarios that the office staff have come across before and we decided what we should do/tell Michael in that situation. We then had a walkthrough of how the casework system works. Each staff member has a policy area. Our final task of the day was to write an article about something Michael did during the week. I had the Corfe Mullen carnival. I had to produce a website version, a Facebook version, and a Twitter version.
Day 2 (Parliament)
Started the day in Portcullis House and while we waited for Simon and Hayley we saw Gavin Williamson. We then went under the road to the Palace for a guided tour where we went into the House of Lords Chamber. We also spoke to a door man who had a Victorian badge. After that we went with Michael for a photo and asked him questions about his plan for the day and the division bell. We said goodbye to Michael and went to have lunch and headed up to the Commons for urgent questions on mortgages. We stayed in the public gallery for the 10 Minute Rule Bill on spiking. We had a brief break then went to St Stephen’s Hall where we met Michael’s deputy principle private secretary, Lydia, and another Civil Servant called Abbie. They explained what they do and what they studied to get their current position. When they left we had a conversation about lobbying and learnt that they might put on an event just for awareness which MPs and their staff can attend, but there are so many of them that a lot are skipped. We then walked to the staff office up many stairs until we reached an office about the size of a family bathroom. We also got to see Simon Hoare’s office which had a lovely view of the terrace. Our final stop before we went home was the gallery in Portcullis House which was full of portraits of long standing MPs.
Day 3 (Constituency)
We started the day writing a briefing on the 10 Minute Rule Bill which we saw yesterday, then wrote a diary entry about yesterday and filled in a fantasy cabinet. Spent the rest of the day writing and planning a debate.
Day 4 (Constituency)
Started the day responding to real casework and discussed what we would do in that situation. This task was easier now we had a good knowledge of the powers of an MP. We went downstairs to do more preparation of the national service debate. We concluded that we were going to argue for a national service within both the public and sector and within the community. Over lunch we discussed our fantasy cabinet – a cabinet full of real and fake people, alive or dead. I then did some writing of the debate speech before we all started stuffing envelopes with parliamentary surveys for constituents about the cost of living.
Day 5 (Constituency – Final Day)
The first thing we did was continue stuffing envelopes. Today Michael was here in the constituency office, so we were all individually brought down to talk to him, I was first. I asked him about his thoughts on collective ministerial responsibility – which he thought was very important with acting as a whole body and public opinion of consistency. I then continued stuffing envelopes till we were briefed about knocking on doors in Corfe Mullen. We were going to hand deliver some of these surveys to constituents and ask them if they had any issues to raise to Michael. A surprising number of people were home. After lunch we did the debate, we setup the office into a House of Commons arrangement and I spoke first. There were a few interruptions, including from Michael as the speaker and I answered them with great confidence. Michael gave us feedback and mentioned that he liked that I used the notes I prepared beforehand. During the debate everyone spoke very clearly and confidently with some amazing arguments. The debate was a draw and when we finished, we wrote diary entries for the week.