Thread by @HansardSociety

🧵What do newly-elected MPs do to get set up in this first week in Parliament? The eagle-eyed among you may have seen new MPs receiving a white envelope from the Returning Officer after their victory was announced. Pictured is @YuanfenYang with hers. It contains a letter....1/

@YuanfenYang The letter is from the Clerk of @HouseofCommons welcoming them to Westminster and a booklet to help them navigate their first few days, setting out where they should go and what they need to do when they arrive at Parliament. There is also a letter... 2/

@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons ... from @ipsaUK, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority which deals with MPs pay and pensions and regulates and administers their staff and office expenses. The MPs arrive first at Westminster Hall where they will be assigned a "buddy". Who is this...? 3/

@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK The new MP's "buddy" is a member of @HouseofCommons staff who will help support them during their first few days and will also support the MPs new staff in the weeks ahead if they want it. The staff come from across the House so have been in training to learn about...4/

@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK ...all the services in Parliament - including those where the "buddy" may not have worked themselves - so they can answer all the basic questions new MPs may have in the next few days. It's a huge operation to prepare for 335 new MPs! The "buddy" will take them...5/

@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK ...to the new members' reception area in Portcullis House (the modern office building where some MPs have their offices, and where there are committee and meeting rooms). MPs have been arriving since Friday to get set up...6/

@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK ...like all of us on our first day in a new job there are a few induction priorities - the "4 Ps": pass, pay, PC and post! The new MPs have to get their security pass, meet with @ipsaUK and the @HouseofCommons HR team to sort out their pay & pension admin and find out what...7/

@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK ...arrangements they need to have in place to employ Westminster & constituency office staff. They will meet with the digital service team to get their email address sorted and pick up a laptop or iPad. They can also get advice on digital security policies and precautions...8/

@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK But it's not all digital...they are also shown where to pick up their post. One of the biggest shocks facing new MPs is the discovery that they may have to wait weeks for an office. In the meantime they get a locker for their belongings & post! 9/
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@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK In 2010, 59% of new MPs waited 5 weeks or more for an office. The arrangements have improved a bit since then but the turnover of MPs is much bigger this time (335 v 232 in 2010). Why does it take so long to sort out an office for new MPs? ....10/

@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK The arrangements are in the hands of the Accommodation Whips in each party. When there's a change in government the office moves don't just involve new MPs but lots of the returning MPs as well. Former Ministers have to move out of their offices on the ministerial...11/

@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK ...corridor & be replaced by Labour Ministers and their staff. The SNP are no longer the second party of opposition so they have to move out of their office to be replaced by the Lib Dems. Offices are assigned according to seniority and length of service. So an MP... 12/

@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK ...elected in the 1980s will get a better office than an MP elected last week as will MPs who have a particular role - e.g if they are a Select Cmtt chair. It's all in the hands of the whips so party patronage plays a role! It's a complex exercise and in 2010 it involved ...
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@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK ...1,300 moves between offices for Members and their staff, and 16,200 changes to the telephone system. There are more new MPs this time so it will be a bigger exercise. When an office move has been agreed they will also need to be cleaned (and in some cases redecorated). 14/

@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK So in the meantime new MPs will be hot-desking, using space in specially assigned rooms including some of the committee rooms. MPs in the past have said the Library is a haven of peace in these challenging first few weeks! 15/

@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK The MPs will also be taken on a tour of Parliament - including the Chamber - by their "buddy". If they've never been before it will be awe-inspiring and a bit overwhelming. And most new MPs are taken aback at how small the House of Commons Chamber is. Parliament is a maze...16/

@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK ...new MPs will inevitably get lost. Even those who have been on the estate for decades regularly get lost and discover corridors and rooms they never knew existed. But MPs need to know their way to the Chamber by tomorrow (Tue, 9 July) which is the day Parliament has...17/

@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK ...been formally summoned to meet for the first time. The first item of business is to elect the Speaker - or to re-elect the Speaker as Sir Lindsay Hoyle will be asked if he is willing to serve again. Our guide explains the process. 18/
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@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK The new MPs then need to swear-in. It's critical that all MPs swear the Oath or make a solemn Affirmation because by law they can't participate in proceedings of the House (except the election of the Speaker) unless and until they have been sworn-in...19/
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@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK Under the Parliamentary Oaths Act 1866, any MP who votes or sits during any debate after the Speaker has been chosen, before they are sworn-in, will be subject to a £500 penalty and their seat will be vacated as if they "were dead"! A writ for a by-election would then... 20/

@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK ...be moved. Once sworn-in it's been customary for MPs not to participate in proceedings until they've made their Maiden Speech. But this was relaxed in the 2010 Parliament because of the number of new MPs so we'd expect the Speaker to advise this custom is relaxed again...21/

@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK Once they've sworn-in the new MPs will have more time to focus on setting up their operation at Westminster and in the constituency. Parliamentary business won't start formally until the State Opening of Parliament and the King's Speech on Wed 17 July. We've got a Guide to... 22/

@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK how Parliament gets 'Back to Business' detailing all the ceremonial, legislative, organisational and procedural processes that will be engaged in the coming weeks. Bookmark or download it. 👇 23/
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@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK If you want to know more about how Parliament works and what lies ahead for the new MPs sign up to our regular newsletter 👇 END of this thread (for now! There's more to come re State Opening, King's Speech, election of Deputy Speakers..)
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@YuanfenYang @HouseofCommons @ipsaUK If you find this 'behind the scenes' & procedural detail interesting, then follow our Director @RuthFox01 and researcher @mattengland3011 on here for more as the parliamentary session unfolds.

You'll also love our Parliament Matters podcast co-hosted by our Director @RuthFox01 & former BBC parliamentary correspondent @DArcyTiP. It's full of this behind the scenes info, unpacking all the processes and procedures in Westminster each week. hansardsociety.org.uk/news/parliamen…