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MPs represent people's concerns and interests in the House of Commons.
You could work: evenings; away from home
You'll attend sessions in Parliament to:
Outside Parliament, you'll:
Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding and you may spend nights away from home.
You can get into this job through:
Most people show their commitment through campaigning and volunteering for their party.
You can get other useful experience from:
You become a Member of Parliament (MP) by being elected in a by-election or general election. You can stand for election as a member of a political party or as an independent candidate.
Each political party has its own selection procedure. Normally, you must get the support of your party's nominating officer before you can become the prospective candidate.
As a candidate during an election, you'll be expected to campaign in public and online, attend meetings, make speeches and talk to the local media. You'll find it helpful to have some experience in one or more of these areas.
You'll need to:
You'll need a good understanding of local and national issues, and be up to date with current affairs.
The Houses of Parliament offer the following schemes to get involved:The Parliamentary Academy Scheme; Speaker's Parliamentary Placement Scheme; The House of Commons Apprenticeship Scheme; House of Lords Apprenticeship Scheme; Undergraduate Sandwich Student Placements
There is more information on these schemes from Parliamentary work placement and Apprenticeship Programme.
You can get more advice about becoming an MP from UK Parliament.
You can find information about working for an MP from W4MP - Working for an MP.
General elections are held every 5 years, so it can take some time to be elected MP.
With experience, you may get the opportunity to take on extra responsibilities like chairing committees and moving into more senior positions like party whip or even party leader.
If your political party is in power, you could go from junior minister to minister and then cabinet minister. If your party is in opposition, you could be a spokesperson on certain issues or have responsibilities in a shadow cabinet.
10 Steps into Politics