19th January 2026 6:50 am
The Working for an MP website is a resource for anyone working for a British Member of Parliament or with an interest in how Parliament works. You can read about the site’s history, or get in touch with suggestions or feedback, or find out about the help and advice available to staff from the House of Commons, including the IGCS Behaviour Code. It is also home to the UK’s largest listing of political jobs, at w4mpjobs.
w4mp wishes all our readers a happy and prosperous 2026. We will be here to provide support, guidance and job opportunities throughout the year.
Social
Follow us on Bluesky at w4mp.bsky.social. We can also be found on Facebook and remain as @w4mpsite on X/Twitter but don’t actively post there.
Latest News
- Access to Justice: Legal aid and servicesA research briefing from the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST). Find out by reading the research briefing here: Access to Justice: Legal aid and services
- Changes to insuranceChanges have recently been made to the business travel and personal accident insurance policies. To find out more, see here: ParliNet | Updates to business travel and personal accident insurance
- Structure of the NHS in England (ICBs, trusts, etc) – Caseworker Discussion ForumTime: 1030 – 1130Date: Thursday 12 February 2026Location: Online via MS TeamsInformation and booking: https://parliament.learningpool.com/course/view.php?id=1953 With Tom Powell, Manjit Gheera and Rachael Harker from the Commons Library.
- MMSST Midlands RoadshowSign up now! The MMSST will be hosting a roadshow event in the Midlands this February. The event forms part of a wider programme of roadshows taking place across the UK this year and offers a valuable opportunity to deepen your understanding…
- Labour Staff Economy NetworkThe Labour Staff Economy Network (LSEN) is a new group for Labour staff interested in progressive economic policy. For details and information about how to join, please see here: Labour Staff Economy Network
- Parliament Choir RehearsalsParliament Choir rehearses every Monday during sitting weeks from 18:15 to 20:15 in St. Mary Undercroft. For more information, see here: https://w4mp.org/w4mp-guides/groups-which-staff-can-join/sports-and-social-groups/parliament-choir/
w4mp and ParliNet
ParliNet, available to those with a parliamentary login, contains everything you need to stay connected to the parliamentary community. Use it to find information like catering menus, events, contact numbers, and the latest news. If you find any links on w4mp to the old intranet, please let us know.
To access the hotlines on Parlinet you can follow this direct link. To search the document use the SharePoint search box by typing CTRL-F / CMD-F.
Are you OK?
Are you OK? How are you coping? Do you need to talk to someone?
An MP’s office can be a busy and stressful environment at the best of times, and over the past few weeks, staff have been under a lot of extra pressure.
The work we do can put a strain on our mental health and wellbeing, and we can often feel isolated. If you are finding it difficult to cope, or just need someone to talk to, or somewhere to offload, please remember that help is available.
The Wellness Working Group offers lots of useful information advice and you can access their hub here: https://hopuk.sharepoint.com/sites/hct-wellbeinghub
Please ring the helpline and talk to someone. It’s what it’s there for.
Health Assured provides an independent support service to MPs’ staff, it is completely confidential, free and can be accessed 24/7 by phone, online portal and app. You can access support for any issue you are struggling with, it doesn’t have to be work related. Look here for further information, their helpline number and a link to access the service: https://hopuk.sharepoint.com/sites/hct-wellbeinghub/SitePages/What-suport-is-there-.aspx
What we do at w4mp
Read a welcome to the site from Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Speaker of the House of Commons
Archived guides can be found on the w4mp archive. They should not be relied on as expressions of current practice.
Our humourous alt.guides can be found on alt.w4mp.org, along with an archive of Hoby cartoons.
“The MPs’ assistants and researchers walk at twice the pace of everyone else and their eyes burn twice as fiercely” John Crace, The Guardian, 14 May 2015
Header image cropped from Wikimedia Commons image by user:Colin CC BY-SA-4.0
