MP Patrick Mercer takes pride in representing his home in the Commons.The theory is that a member of Parliament should not do just one job
By Dana Huntley
Last issue, British Heritage readers met MP Patrick Mercer (C) from Newark. Unusually in the British parliamentary system of government, Mercer represents the constituency in Nottinghamshire that is his home. It was also the constituency of the great 19th-century Liberal statesman William Gladstone. It's a long way from the heart-of-England market town at the crossroads to the corridors of power in Westminster.
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I visited with MP Mercer in his office at Portcullis House, just across the street from the Houses of Parliament, on the corner of Westminster Bridge next to the statue of Queen Boadicea. What is an MP's working life in Parliament? How do you tend your constituency? What are the rhythms of the political year? Inquiring British Heritage readers want to know. In the corner of his functional and slightly rumpled office, Mercer lounged comfortably in his overstuffed contemporary reading chair and affably talked of his work.
The Parliamentary year roughly follows the school year. There are long recesses for Christmas and Easter and a summer adjournment that runs from late July to the first of October. Parliament is in session for about eight months of the year.
During the parliament session, the house sits Monday to Thursday. On Thursday night, Patrick Mercer catches a train home to his constituency in Newark. The long weekend is spent tending to constituency business and attending official and unofficial local meetings and events. He returns by train to Westminster on Monday morning.
"During recesses, it's up to me how much time I spend in my constituency. The fact remains that I live in my constituency, which is quite unusual," Mercer explains. Because a party's candidates are selected by party committee rather than by local primaries, there is no tradition of local candidates representing local constituencies.
For Mercer, however, that local connection is important. "That's the pleasure for me in what I do. I don't want to represent anywhere other than where I do live. All my roots are local, and I have great pride in representing the people of Newark. They see me in daily life—as someone like them who just happens to represent them in Parliament. That's important to me."
Generally, the Commons is called into session for the day at 2:30 in the afternoon. It subsequently engages in deliberation, debating and the process of voting until adjournment often after midnight. Odd as that daily schedule might appear, there is method in the clockworks. After all, being an MP is just a part-time job.
American congressmen are strictly governed over their "outside interests" and sources of income beyond their congressional salaries. And we certainly expect a full day's work out of our legislators. Britain's parliament evolved over centuries in a very different way from our own governing institutions, however. They look at it quite differently.
"The theory is that a member of Parliament should not do just one job," Mercer explains, "—that he or she have some other form of employment or remuneration so they can continue leading a commercial life while they are a member of parliament."
Members of Parliament are expected to have outside interests—independent businesses, company directorships, editing or writing contracts, consultancies. Or jobs in various ministerial positions within the Government. The Commons does not convene in the mornings, however, to allow members to attend to their "outside interests."
"In practice, though, I'm in my office just after 9; I've got to have access to my staff and to people who work regular 9-5 days," said Mercer. When the House is in session, deliberation and debate govern the Commons. It's never expected that all members be present during the discussions; there aren't enough seats for them all at the same time in the house. From a CCTV mounted in his office, Mercer can work while keeping a weather-cocked eye on the action taking place on the floor across the street.
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