My work experience with Bobby Dean 

by Andrew Osborne

I had the pleasure of taking part in a work experience placement with Bobby Dean and his staff at the Carshalton and Wallington office. This placement helped to give me an insight into the wide range of different roles within politics and also how each role is organised to help streamline the overall organisation. All of the staff were kind and accommodating, making me feel like a member of the team rather than someone there on a week long placement.

I was first introduced to Sarah who is part of the casework team. My work experience partner and I were given an insight into what casework entails in our first task. This involved us reviewing issues of the local constituents that had been raised to Bobby and seeing what we could do to help solve them. We then discussed our views with Sarah who, as part of her review, showed us what her thought process is when tackling these often complex issues, showing us her actual responses to the constituents. This task was extremely interesting as it gave an insight into the variety of cases that constituents have and also the knowledge needed to ensure that the best possible outcome for the constituent is achieved. What really stood out to me was the variation between cases meaning that no two cases were the same and also meant that a different approach was needed to each case.

We then took a trip up to Parliament, getting to experience what life was like for an MP when they weren’t in and about the local constituency. Here we were given a quick tour of the building before being introduced to Hermione who explained her role in assisting Bobby through conducting research that can help Bobby develop his arguments and points that he raises in his select committee meetings as well as in any oral questions that he asks. We were then lucky enough to get to see Bobby in the House of Commons ask about the government's long term planning for climate change resilience. After lunch we then held a miniature debate on this topic, taking on both a left-wing and right-wing viewpoint on net zero. This ultimately developed my understanding of how the different parties can have such different views on a topic that affects us all, and is one that something should be done about.

We were then given the opportunity to talk to Bobby about his journey into politics, his motivations behind becoming an MP and a member of the Treasury select committee as well as the topics and local issues that he feels strongly about.

We were also able to spend a morning with Matt who is in charge of Bobby’s communications and social media. He gave us an insight into the various different methods used by Bobby to effectively communicate with the constituents, how issues raised were prepared for a social media post and also how key issues such as St Helier hospital were prepared for a press release. Julie then gave us an insight into the extent of Bobby’s emails and how they are organised, as well as the extent of his schedule. This was a real eye opener into how busy an MP’s life actually is, but also the wide variety of emails received and how Julie plays a key role through organising them to make sure that nothing gets ignored.

In light of parliament's summer recess approaching, we were given the task to research any local charities or organizations that Bobby could visit, helping to solidify his image of an MP who cares for the constituents. This enabled me to use the knowledge I had gained earlier on in the placement to select possible visits that best align with Bobby’s main beliefs.

Although each day was spent working with a different department, there was clear overlap between them. This enabled the placement to feel like one integrated experience rather than multiple smaller, separate placements. I can not emphasise how kind and supportive the staff were, ultimately adding to the enjoyment of the placement. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who already has an interest in politics and also to those who want to develop their knowledge of the different roles within politics.