ANALYSIS: Why it's lazy to claim MPs are swanning off for a five-week summer holiday
Berating MPs for the summer recess may be good for the Twitter numbers, but it underplays the behind-the-scenes work they will keep on doing, argues PolHome's Matt Honeycombe-Foster.
MPs, it's fair to say, have not done a lot to make themselves popular over the past decade or so.
Britain's gridlock over Brexit remains unresolved, partisan bickering seems to be at an all-time high - and the memory of the 2009 expenses scandal still lingers in the collective memory.
But what is surely one of the laziest takes in political punditry has reared its head again as Parliament rises for its summer recess: the idea that MPs are all swanning off to sun themselves on the beaches while us taxpayers foot the bill.
The view was summed up by a popular tweet fired out from the 'Have I Got News For You' team on Friday: "BREAKING: MPs go off on their 5 week summer holidays, as everything’s completely under control and there’s absolutely no work to do."
At the time of writing, the tweet had garnered more than 1,800 retweets and more than 7,000 likes.
But its central argument downplays a major aspect of what it is that MPs actually do with their time.
It's true that part of what we pay them for is to pass laws and scrutinise the Government's plans. On this front, it's hard to argue with the claim that things are not exactly functioning as they should.
However, it is worth remembering that, even if MPs were to hang around in the Commons over the summer, there's not much new they could try to solve the fundamental challenges hobbling Britain's EU departure.
They can't for example, magic up a sustainable parliamentary majority for the Government, nor can they redraw the red lines that have framed the EU negotiations so far (the last time they tried to seize control with a series of ‘indicative votes’, remember, they were vilified by Theresa May).
These big national issues do not go away while MPs are not in the House of Commons - and, for many working in Westminster, they'll continue to try and make progress on them during the recess.
As one Tory staffer explains: “My boss, a senior backbencher, certainly doesn't agree that recess is for relaxation. He rings multiple times a day, on issues from no deal impact to requests for raw data or developing foreign affairs stories.
"He attends constituency events, requests updates on casework developments and briefings for surgeries. I think for most MPs, out of sight is definitely not out of mind.”
ON THE CASE
One particular aspect of MPs work will eat up much of their time away from the House of Commons: constituency casework.
When Parliament is sitting, MPs spend every Friday in the places they represent, holding open-door surgeries where local residents come to them to get help with a whole host of problems - ranging from the mundane to the obscure, to the downright horrific.
This is an unglamorous, but vital side of the job, and over the past few months alone, I've spoken to MPs and their staff working to help desperate residents access stripped-back eating disorder services, challenge Kafka-esque Home Office decisions on immigration, fight rogue landlords over damp, collapsing flats - or try and save local firms from going out of business as high streets struggle.
As Labour MP Jess Phillips tells PoliticsHome: “I'll be working in my constituency office and dealing with destitute families, kids without school places in September, constituents having issues abroad while on holiday amongst many others. Recess is not a holiday.”
In many instances, the only tools MPs and aides have at their disposal for this work is persistent letter-writing, the ability to keep plugging away at a problem - and a good knowledge of which ministers to lean on to try and get their constituents a fair hearing.
All too often, MPs find themselves acting effectively as social workers, papering over the cracks when other parts of the state have let their constituents down.
MPs and their staff receive no formal training in this work - and many in Westminster tell me that the situation has gotten worse as other frontline services feel the squeeze of austerity.
Will Crook, who works for a Conservative MP, says: "As a caseworker, the only difference between a recess day and a sitting day is that I don’t wear a suit. Casework is the forgotten part of Westminster and I find it incredible that some who should know better peddle the myth that, when MPs aren’t in the chamber, they’re doing nothing."
One Labour staffer adds: "For commentators and media outlets to feed into the anti-politics sentiment by equating parliamentary recess to a holiday is as irresponsible as it is disingenuous.
"MPs have to book annual leave like everyone else. The rest of recess, for both them and their staffers will be casework-heavy, as they deal with the turmoil and uncertainty of Brexit, Universal Credit, the housing crisis and stinging cuts. There is very little rest outside of the Chamber. Anyone that says otherwise is either a sensationalist or reading the words of one."
'OUR WORK GOES ON'
It’s true that some MPs will use part of the summer to take their annual holiday - and, as in any walk of life, there will be some who do take the mick.
But, as one Labour aide puts it, a short bout of rest could actually be good for Britain's run-down parliamentarians after a year defined by late night votes, bitter arguments, and, in some cases, frayed mental health.
“The work for MPs and staffers doesn't stop just because it's recess - casework still rolls in and the work behind the scenes continues," they tell PolHome.
"And if anyone does take a break or a holiday, they deserve the rest. We need our politicians and staff who work for them to be rested so they can be effective."
Labour's Wes Streeting, MP for Ilford North says the five-week recess "has obviously, and justifiably, raised eyebrows with the public".
"But we’ve got to challenge this idea that MPs are just off on a five week holiday," he adds.
"My first day of recess is being spent meeting my local police commander and meeting residents’ groups.
"I’ll be taking a couple of weeks off on holiday, but otherwise our work in both offices goes on."
