Now Sir Christopher Kelly has made his far reaching recommendations on MPs’ expenses, I hope he will turn his attention to the pay of interns who help grease the machinery of Westminster village.
This is also a flawed system which continues to operate with MPs acknowledging it is unfair, but turning a blind eye to its full implications as their daily lives get swallowed up by daily pressures.
Most interns who work in a parliamentary office have to survive on being paid expenses only – some don’t even get that – and this can last for up to a year. As living in London is far from cheap, it means internships attracts mainly those from privileged backgrounds who rely on family support, or have friends they can live with in London while doing their stint in Westminster.
If interns don’t have financial backing, it means they end up in debt at the end of their placement and faced with an additional hefty debt on top of their student loan.
The estimated number of interns working for MPs is 450. A survey by the union Unite revealed some fascinating figures about their roles, including the fact that 2.4% of MPs use five or more interns, only 1% are paid the minimum wage, and 44% do not receive travel or food expenses.
My student son who is studying Economics is currently looking for a year’s work placement within industry next September before his final year. He has been told by his tutors that he should be paid for this work. This was explained to us at his uni’s open day when it was mentioned that some were paid the princely sum of £10,000.
If it can happen for him, why is Westminster different as an employer?
Two years ago I described the difficulties that former Tory blogger Martine Martin faced when she became an intern in Westminster after her student loan was halved because her local LEA in Leeds didn’t recognise parliament as a "teaching institutionâ€.
She was paid £250 a month towards her expenses, but still ended up with debts of 
£2,500 on top of what she had already accumulated at university.
I was thinking about Martine today and the plight of interns and contacted her to say I thought it was time there was a thorough review of interns pay. It turned out I was not the only one thinking along these lines. She told me that this evening she will be talking about this issue on Radio 5 Live with Donal MacIntyre and describe her experiences and a report she has has written about it.
She will be joined by Lib Dem MP Phil Willis, who has listened to concerns about this and is now championing the cause for interns. He has submitted an Early Daily Motion which is supported by all parties and states:
That this House notes the important contribution interns working for hon. Members make; further notes internships in Parliament offer young people a transformative insight into political life and an important gateway into politics; believes that people from all around the UK, and from diverse backgrounds should have an equal opportunity to take part in internships for hon. Members; further believes hon. Members should be leading the country through providing best practice internships; welcomes the new Interns Agreement launched by the Unite Parliamentary Staff Branch, a document analogous to an employment contract, which sets out what both the hon. Member and the intern can expect from the internship; urges all hon. Members to use an Interns Agreement to ensure that their interns are offered a fulfilling and fair experience with the opportunity for training and development; and urges the House to consider bringing forward measures similar to those of the European Parliament to offer well structured, resourced and transparently advertised internship programmes.
This issue is clearly gathering momentum with Phil Willis last month hosting a meeting called “The beginning of the end for generation intern?†There were rousing speeches from The Speaker John Bercow, Charles Clarke MP, Shadow 
Minister for Universities and Skills David Willets, NUS President Wes Streeting and president of the parliamentary branch of Unite, Dan Whittle.
The Speaker stated that he was very happy to raise it ‘through the appropriate channels’ although ‘this will take time’. He acknowledged that ‘This will not go away, it cannot be brushed under the carpet… I am listening’.
Dan Whittle called for an end to ‘generation intern’, and ended by challenging The Speaker to put this issue on the agenda for the Members’ Estimates Committee’s meeting which covers staffing costs, stating that he was ‘disappointed’ by the absence of such a promise.
It’s surely the right time now to thoroughly review the structure of interns and its exploitative element. While appreciating that working in Westminster provides a fantastic experience for students who wish to find work in the political arena and build up contacts themselves, if they are doing professional work, then they should be paid for it; their work should be valued and they should at least be offered the minimum wage. There needs to be clarification and clear guidelines about their role and contribution in the Honourable Member’s office.
The ball is now in the court of The Speaker. I am hoping that he will play an ace and not leave this in the long grass…
UPDATE: ConservativeHome has written about this issue too following the Radio 5 Live programme with Martine and others. You can read it here. It tells how one intern who had worked for a Labour MP unpaid still hadn’t received expenses that were submitted in April. Maybe we should see a list of how much MPs paid their interns.
Ellee – fair play to you for raising this issue and I thoroughly agree with you.
I hope MPs like Phillip Hammond who back in August claimed that to pay interns would be “an abuse of taxpayer funding” (http://www.spectator.co.uk/martinbright/5279651/that-philip-hammond-email-in-full.thtml) are won round to our way of thinking.
Otherwise internships like this will continue to be the preserve of the privileged.
Mark, I think the whole issue needs to be reviewed and the work done by interns should be evaluated. There seems to be a lot of blurring between their role and the work carried out by paid staff.
60247, of course, you are absolutely right, and thank you. But is that all you have to say on this topic?
Miss P the younger is currently such an unpaid intern. I am happy for her to get experience in Parliament and hope it will help with her politics degree. If they had to pay her and her colleagues, the internships simply wouldn’t be there. I am grateful to the 2 MPs giving her this opportunity for real life experience, but given the comments here perhaps it’s best I don’t name them, eh?
I am sad to read comments about “privilege” from people who should know better. Comments about the hypocrisy of Labour MPs who are materialists by ideology and think everything can be reduced to cash as well as being advocates of minimum wage and benefits systems that combine to keep young working people on the dole would be more appropriate. Better they were low-paid apprentices developing valuable skills than racking up the high scores on their play-stations. No-one is ever going to want to pay them for that.
So I keep feeding her and paying for her accommodation as I did (and will again when the internship’s over) at her University in London. Big deal. I will do it forever if she’s learning something of value that she’s passionate about. That doesn’t make me or her a bad person.
Don’t tell us how to live our lives please. Who better than her family to “rely” on for “support?” Didn’t the Tories used to claim to be the party of the family? Now families helping each other is a bad thing and something to be associated with “privilege?” For shame, Ellee. Poorer families living in striking distance of Westminster could (and can) do the same. More might if they were not afflicted with the entitlement culture your post sadly reflects. Those living too far away could be interns in MPs constituency or at local party offices.
Ellee, with your talk of “privilege”, sneering at families looking after themselves, and your desire to regulate private arrangements why don’t you and your commenters just join the Labour Party and have done with it?
Tom,
I was really surprised at your comment as I regarded you are a great Libertarian. I have no grudge against the privileged, and I don’t know how you interpreted that. I believe equal opportunities should be available to all aspiring political students, but it is a fact of life that experiencing the Westminster bubble is not within reach of many who are not financially supported. It would be impossible to live in London on expenses alone for up to a year without an extra source of funding.
I don’t see why a student from Sunderland, for example, should be denied this wonderful experience and be expected to work solely with their local branch as there is no comparison; they would never enjoy the same experiences that daughter P is enjoying.
I’m all for internships and recognise it is mutually beneficial. My point is that the work which interns do should be evaluated and they should be paid accordingly if their work is making a valued contribution to the office. If your daughter can manage without it, then that’s fine, but others will need it. The LEA cut Martine’s funding because it did not recognise Westminster as “a teaching institution”. It is certainly outrageous to hear of an MP not paying his interns’ expenses which was referred to on the radio programme.
I think that’s a bit unfair on Ellee, Tom. It isn’t a slur against those of means at all to point out an injustice exists. Your daughter is incredibly lucky you’re able to support her through her internship, but what if you weren’t able to?
It wouldn’t change her interest in politics, so it shouldn’t affect her ability to pursue experience in the field. Ergo, fair remuneration for full time working hours is necessary to let everyone with a passion for politics have a stab, without getting into horendous debt.
Frankly, she shouldn’t need to rely on you at all. Family means should make no difference. That’s where the problem lies.
Furthermore, other industries pay their interns or run schemes to help young people get experience, regardless of background, and without becoming an unpaid workforce. Parliament, of all places, should be leading the way.
How exactly do I tell you Conservatives apart from Labourites these days? Is it just the things you want the taxpayers to fund that makes the difference?
Tom, this issue is surely non-political and the EDM has all-party parliamentary support. If the only way a long term internment can be secured in cases like Martine’s where it is an integral part of their degree, then yes, we should have a broader view about helping them financially.