Who was your boss?

Who was your boss?

Oona King (Author and Former Member of Parliament) gives expert video advice on: Who was your boss?; How much do MPs earn?; Do all MPs get the same salary? and more...

MPs have a very obvious boss, which is the head of their party, and if you are the party in power, the prime minister is your boss. But the really interesting thing about the House of Commons, Virginia Bottom, she put it very well. She said there are 650 MPs, and it is basically a house of 650 sole traders. That is, you really do not have any boss. No one gives you any appraisal. The general election and people shouting at you in the street. But basically there is no intelligent appraisal of what you are doing in between a general election. There is very little. There is the media. You do not really have a boss. Your constituents decide whether you are going to be there in the future, but you could get away. Some MP's get away with doing very little. They are a very small minority and most of them are running around manically. Which is quite strange because considering in theory, they really do not have a boss.