Last Wednesday I was once again given the opportunity to attend Prime Minister’s Questions. Expecting it to be much like last time, I was excited, but didn’t think on it too much before the day arrived. To my surprise, I was offered an under gallery ticket.
I was grateful last time to be able to sit in the private gallery above the chamber, but this was a whole new kind of special: the under gallery allows you to sit directly in the chamber, just one row behind MPs who are there for debate.
As I watched the lively interactions of Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn, I was struck once again by how unbelievable it is that I am here, doing these things. I am lucky enough to have considerable work experience, but my internship through the Hansard program has been one of the most substantial. From the responsibilities I have been given to people I’ve been able to meet, this has been absolutely incredible. Having fallen into a routine, I got used to being in Parliament, but in the chamber that day, I was reminded just how special it is that I get to be here.
Coming into this experience, I didn’t really imagine spending all that much time in Scotland. I had thought that the program visit to Edinburgh would probably be my only Scottish experience. Low and behold, I have now been to Scotland three times. Once to Edinburgh, once to Glasgow and, this past weekend, to St Andrews.
Two weekends ago I traveled to Glasgow for my first ever business trip to visit the constituency of one of them MPs for whom I work. This past weekend, I visited the other constituency in Fife.
Getting to St Andrews is a bit of a schlep. You can get there via (a few different) trains, but I opted to fly as I had to depart after my lectures on Thursday and didn’t want to be arriving in the middle of the night. So, I booked a flight to Edinburgh, which, at 90 minutes away, is the closest airport.
If you have a car or someone to come pick you up, this is no problem. In my case however, it was a bit complicated. My flight arrived just a bit too close for comfort to the last train of the night to Leuchars and from there I would have had to take two busses to reach my hotel. Ultimately I opted for a rideshare recommended by a friend at the University which provided a cheap and safe alternative to figuring out the Scottish bus system in the middle of the night.
As an aside: after putting my things in the trunk, the driver told me to go around to the front so the married couple also using the service could be together in the back. I walked to the right side of the car only to look in and find the steering wheel– I guess three months of UK cars can’t shake two decades of driving on right side of the road.
While charming, my hotel was not quite as aggressively Scottish (ie. red plaid) as where I stayed in Glasgow (note: the carpets were still plaid).
I woke the next morning to a pleasant surprise: my hotel was located directly across from the ocean. As I ventured outside at 8:10 am I was also able to catch the tail end of the sunrise over St Andrews, a beautiful way to start my day.
After a quick breakfast at a locally run cafe, I made my way over to the Botanic Gardens to attend a meeting with my MP. We were shown through the gardens by two of its senior staff and I enjoyed learning about how botanic gardens operated: coming from New York, ours is not quite so accessible.
Afterwards, I attended my MP’s surgery, held at a local grocery store where he met with constituents. It still amazes me that this is a regular practice given how difficult it can be to reach someone at the same level of government in the United States. Though I suppose we do also have state, city and local structures to serve many of the functions fulfilled through the surgeries.
While in Fife this weekend, I was able to finally meet the rest of the team that I’ve been working with and put faces to the voices I’ve come to know over the phone. After sitting in on a few hours of meetings in the office, I joined my MP for a photo-op at a farm in Falkland where local farmers were being presented a certificate. Having spent so much time hopping between London and other big cities lately, the farm was a nice change of pace.
To wrap up the day, I staffed a late lunch meeting at a local cafe known as Muddy Boots (fun thing: as we were coming from the farm photo op, we did actually arrive with muddy boots).
Throughout the day, I was reminded of the intense commitment made by Westminster MPs to their job. MPs spend Monday through Thursday in Westminster down in London and then travel home to spend Friday and often Saturday working in their constituencies. For those who live near London, this may not be a big deal– many likely go home each night and commute to London each morning. For my MPs, coming and going so often is much more trying. Not that you could ever tell from the enthusiasm and determination with which they approach their work.
On Saturday morning, I woke up early enough to see the full sunrise (and before you think it’s impressive, that only meant waking up at the hour of 7 in the morning). Witnessing the sun rise over the water reminded me once again how lucky I am to be here on this program and brought on a melancholic feeling as I thought about how my time here is nearing its end. Cheers to three more weeks!
