Welcome to W4MP

Elizabeth Tower against London skyline
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6th March 2026 3:00 pm

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.

A four-panel black-and-white comic strip set in a British government office, featuring **Lucinda** and her colleague **Sir Justin**. * **Panel 1:** Sir Justin sits at a desk with a newspaper, the Houses of Parliament visible through the window. He asks, "What do you think about this proposal to ban under-sixteens from social media?" * **Panel 2:** Sir Justin stands and hands a document to Lucinda, saying, "Lucinda, here's a list of things I intend to post online today, pending your approval as requested." * **Panel 3:** A close-up of Lucinda looking at the paper with a shocked expression. She says, "The first two are untrue, the third one's libellous and the last one will start a war with France." * **Panel 4:** Sir Justin looks back at her with a blank, unbothered expression. Answering his own original question about the social media ban, he says, "I think why stop at sixteen?" The cartoon satirizes the reckless online behavior of adults and politicians, suggesting that age limits for social media might need to be much higher than sixteen.
Hoby Cartoon for March 2026

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

  • Question Time for Women’s History Month
    Time: 1400-1445Date: Wednesday 25 March 2026Location: Online via YouTubeCost: FreeAudience: Young people aged 14-18, schools, colleges, home educatorsHost: UK Parliament Education and Engagement Team What is Question Time for Women’s History Month?  An online engagement event for students aged 14 to 18,…
  • The Situation in Iran
    Owing to the current situation in Iran, Members of Parliament may be receiving requests for assistance from constituents. There is a new section specific to the situation in Iran at the bottom of the hotlines list and we will endeavour to keep…
  • Parliament’s People Awards
    We’re coming up to the announcement of the 2026 Parliament’s People Awards, which recognise the inspirational teams and individuals who have impressed and shown dedication and commitment to supporting a thriving parliamentary democracy. Anybody working for the House of Commons, House of…
  • Parliament Choir: St. Matthew Passion
    Time: 1845Date: Wednesday 18 March 2026Location: Smith Square Hall, London https://www.sinfoniasmithsq.org.uk/event/st-matthews-passion/ Join the Parliament Choir for a performance of JS Bach’s moving St Matthew’s Passion. Setting the description of Christ’s last days from St Matthew’s gospel, the piece gives a moving and…
  • IPSA – Year-End Webinar
    IPSA year-end webinars will take place on: This webinar will explain what year-end is and outline the essential process that is required from MPs and Proxies at the financial year-end in order to finalise their staffing and business costs accounts accurately. Part…
  • Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls Awards: Nominations Now Open 
    Launched today: a new national awards programme recognising leadership and impact across the UK Today marks the launch of the Prevention of Violence Against Women and Girls Awards, recognising and celebrating individuals, teams and organisations across the UK working to prevent abuse and support victims and survivors. With this issue high on…

Read all the news

w4mp and ParliNet

ParliNet Home Page
ParliNet Home Page

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

Archive homepage

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

Read the whole article.

Header image cropped from Wikimedia Commons image by user:Colin CC BY-SA-4.0