My work experience with Bobby Dean 

by Disha Valand

My week of work experience with Bobby Dean has been incredibly eye-opening, informative and very interactive.

Compared to any previous work experiences I have taken part in, my week at Bobby’s office has been one of the most interactive and best tailored for students like me interested in politics as a whole.
From my time here, I learnt that casework is what most of the members in his office handle and the polarisation of issues intrigued me to a great extent. I saw that casework is split into three different areas: personal, policy and campaigns. Issues brought up by constituents ranged from inquiries about the environment all the way to enquiries about his stance on global politics such as the Israel-Palestine conflict. Whilst working with his Head of Casework, I learnt that no day is the same. Above all, I saw how listening to constituents, alleviating their concerns, and cooperating with organizations are what make an MP’s office effective. Additionally, I also really enjoyed being able to draft an email response to a constituent’s concern, making sure it was in the style and tone of Bobby himself as well as ensuring it was in line with Lib Dem policy. By being able to dive deep into the research and following the recommended structure of composing the response, I was able to step inside the shoes of a member of Bobby’s casework team and experience what it was like to be a caseworker.

Not only was I able to experience what it is like to be a caseworker, I was also able to see behind the scenes of his social media posts and the effort put in to spread Bobby’s message on his social media platforms. I was given the task to create a press release, video script and a review of Bobby Dean's social media. These tasks meant that I had to pay attention to detail, read between the lines and extract important information from videos of meetings in order to send it to journalists. This task showed me how much effort is put in behind the scenes to actively engage with the constituency through different mediums such as leaflets, press, emails and social media.
 

Furthermore, I was able to see Bobby’s diary of the week and by being able to talk to him, I learnt how demanding his role is. Initially, before my work experience week, I had an intermediate/good idea of what an MP’s role is composed of, as I have been studying A-level Politics for the past year. However, this has now transformed into a much greater understanding as I learnt how Bobby himself makes sure that any case that comes through to the office is eventually signed off and read by him and that this is also balanced alongside the role he has on the treasury committee and as the shadow leader of the house of commons.I also had an interest in how MPs like Bobby decide what issues to vote on and how and what debates to sit in. This was answered by his team and himself and I learnt how he and his Parliamentary Researcher pick out which issues are of most importance to both him and the constituency as well as his own interests, such as any issues economy-related.

The best part of the week included a trip to parliament. This was the most exciting part of the week as I had previously never visited it and was eager to know what it was like to be able to stand in the very place where MPs hold the government accountable and debate on national and local issues that affect the citizens. The day included a tour of parliament where I was able to see history frozen in time as I saw depictions of important historical events that have shaped the fundamentals of the UK government and the way it interacts with its citizens. I was able to see both the House of Commons and House of Lords as well as different committee rooms where important debates are held. Prior to this day, I thought MPs only had offices within their constituencies, however, I saw how every MP has their own personal office for both themselves and their team. Whilst sat in Bobby’s office, I was able to speak to his Parliamentary Researcher about what her role is composed of and what is involved in helping Bobby in Parliament. This was very interesting as I had very little knowledge prior as to how MPs interact with their team and how they support him. Moreover, I found out about the different routes into the team members roles as part of his team. I learnt about their backgrounds before politics and what made them want to eventually pursue a career in it. This was very eye-opening as both members had very different routes and deepened my interest in being politically aware and active as a young person.

During my time in Bobby’s Parliamentary office, I was given the task to design a Private Members Bill and decided to create it around AI regulation to inform young people about both the great uses of AI and the potential dangers around it. This included research into the topic which allowed me to think of potential rebuttals to the idea and how to think for both sides of an argument.
During the last day of my week, I was given the opportunity to compose an email response to casework surrounding policy/global politics. I learnt how to approach controversial topics by staying in line with Lib Dem policy and reciprocating the tone of the constituent. By writing an email response, I developed important skills and refined some such as problem solving, confidentiality, adaptability and policy interpretation.

Overall, I am very grateful for this experience as it has really shown me the importance of being politically aware and the importance of the role of MPs offices. The skills I have developed and the experiences within it have been extremely valuable and my understanding of politics has improved greatly. I appreciate how interactive and independent the tasks were as well as how they are purposely designed to make students like me think outside of the box. I would like to thank Bobby Dean and his team for this amazing opportunity as I feel very happy and lucky for this experience and hope to integrate what I have learnt when it comes to politics.