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A day in the life of this MP
Never a dull day, frequently an exciting day, often an exhausting day and sometimes a worrying day - at least that is my experience of parliamentary life. By way of illustration I simply take today, starting with writing this article after breakfast at home and after having signed some 40 letters typed the previous day.
In an hour or so I shall call in at my constituency office to consult with my three local staff members and deal with any matters of immediate concern. Then I shall drive to Luton railway station for my daily commute to Westminster. I shall call in briefly at my Westminster office to be briefed by my parliamentary researcher, and then off to my first two meetings, both starting at 1.00pm.
The GMB are having a meeting on Remploy in Committee Room 9, and at the same time there is a briefing for the East of England MPs on Big Lottery Funding. I shall try to call in at both before moving on to the Family Courts Unions Cross Party Group which is to be addressed by the Chair of the Social Work Task Force Moira Gibb. Then possibly to Question Time in the Commons Chamber, which today is for Communities and Local Government. I shall try to catch the Speaker's eye to ask a supplementary question on council housing but suspect that many Members will be standing so my chances may be slim.
After 3.30pm, the Report Stage of the Finance Bill will commence. I am supporting Frank Field's amendment calling in effect for the restoration of the 10p tax rate and I can be sure that the Whips will be doing everything possible to resist this.
Then at 4.00pm, the high point of the day, no less than the UNISON Group of MPs! I shall slip away early to another important meeting on public funding for Social Care, an issue on which I have campaigned vigorously for the last decade. By this time I have missed out on a meeting of the RMT Group of MPs which clashes with the UNISON Group.
The annual TUC reception will seduce me away after 6.30 where I shall meet a dozen old friends and indulge in some mutual ear-bending with trade union comrades. (I spent five years of my earlier life at the TUC.) After an hour or so I may then move on to the Connect Summer Party - divisions permitting, Connect Public Affairs being the organisation employed by UNISON to service the Parliamentary Group among other things.
After late Commons Divisions at 10.00pm I shall scurry away to the Jubilee Line on the first stage of my journey back home to Luton, there to receive an immediate welcome by the cat, a chat over a glass of wine with my wife and BBC's midnight news before bed.
Every day in my political life is unique and often very different from other days. Moreover, each Member of Parliament leads their own unique and particular life and what other Members do may be very different from what I do. I confess to a wide range of political interests and a commitment to promote democratic socialist policies and ideas as well as the cause of trade unionism at every turn. I try therefore to make the most of every opportunity and to maximise any influence I might have on the direction of affairs.
What I do does not always please the Whips but that is how it has to be.
Kelvin Hopkins MP
©Kelvin Hopkins 2009
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