Speeches by Slinger.

“I agree absolutely, Mary. The only thing I would add is that the pressure to respond to the legitimate pressure you feel, most importantly from constituents and other organisations, means that all of us were under immense pressure to hire. Hiring under pressure is the worst possible kind, isn’t it? I have been fortunat…”

“I have a private sector consulting background from the previous 17 or so years, but I was a councillor for two years prior to being selected as the Labour candidate for Rugby, and 20 years ago I worked here for Labour MPs, so I felt that I had a better than average understanding of how this place worked. I think I did …”

“Like colleagues on the first panel, I want to start by saying a huge thank you to the staff of the House. They clearly had put a lot of thought into what they provided, and it was very helpful. But I would say that there was information overload. There was a default of having clearly thought about the kind of informati…”

“An analogy that I would use is to imagine being appointed as a headteacher, having never been a teacher before. That is a slight exaggeration. Then you are told that you have no secretary or PA, you have no immediate staff, you have no physical office apart from maybe a desk in a busy hot room somewhere, and here are a…”

“Well, quite.”

“Yes, that touches on another “above our pay grades” point, around the extent to which MPs have any legal responsibility. For example, if someone comes to you with a matter of legal jeopardy or child protection issues and so on, you do not have any legal responsibility, as I understand it, but you have, I think, a moral…”

“Absolutely. As ever, I agree with Sarah in the things that she said. I add that your family, especially your spouse and, to some extent, your children, are making enormous sacrifices, which are hard to comprehend before you get elected. It is hard for you to comprehend, and it is hard for them to comprehend and predict…”

“Absolutely. As ever, I agree with Sarah in the things that she said. I add that your family, especially your spouse and, to some extent, your children, are making enormous sacrifices, which are hard to comprehend before you get elected. It is hard for you to comprehend, and it is hard for them to comprehend and predict…”

“Like colleagues on the first panel, I want to start by saying a huge thank you to the staff of the House. They clearly had put a lot of thought into what they provided, and it was very helpful. But I would say that there was information overload. There was a default of having clearly thought about the kind of informati…”

“I have a private sector consulting background from the previous 17 or so years, but I was a councillor for two years prior to being selected as the Labour candidate for Rugby, and 20 years ago I worked here for Labour MPs, so I felt that I had a better than average understanding of how this place worked. I think I did …”

“May I make one point? I think that parents of teenage children, perhaps, could benefit in a subtle way if they were brought into the fold, because I think teenage years can be challenging. Although I know that thought has been given to this by the authorities, more could have been proactively offered. Maybe it was, but…”

“An analogy that I would use is to imagine being appointed as a headteacher, having never been a teacher before. That is a slight exaggeration. Then you are told that you have no secretary or PA, you have no immediate staff, you have no physical office apart from maybe a desk in a busy hot room somewhere, and here are a…”

“My children are significantly older than Sarah’s, so I don’t have anything to add to what she said. I am just sorry that she and other colleagues had to go through that. We really do need people like Sarah in this place, and we need new mums to feel that they can become MPs, so it is incumbent upon the system to make s…”

“I agree with that, and I do think, actually, to your point, Bambos, that former MPs helping newly elected MPs would be useful. As the Chair said, he is still learning 16 years in. That shows you how difficult it can be if you are 16 days in. Constituents absolutely have a right to a professional service from day one, s…”

“Well, quite.”

“I agree absolutely, Mary. The only thing I would add is that the pressure to respond to the legitimate pressure you feel, most importantly from constituents and other organisations, means that all of us were under immense pressure to hire. Hiring under pressure is the worst possible kind, isn’t it? I have been fortunat…”

“I agree with all of that. The key thing would be to help us to prioritise the inbox. As much as I would have liked a delay of a few days, I think that, from a democratic representation perspective, you are the new MP of your constituents and they have just voted for you, so you have to have it switched on. It is about …”

“I am John Slinger, the Labour MP for Rugby, and I was elected in July ’24 as well.”

“I agree with that, and I do think, actually, to your point, Bambos, that former MPs helping newly elected MPs would be useful. As the Chair said, he is still learning 16 years in. That shows you how difficult it can be if you are 16 days in. Constituents absolutely have a right to a professional service from day one, s…”

“My children are significantly older than Sarah’s, so I don’t have anything to add to what she said. I am just sorry that she and other colleagues had to go through that. We really do need people like Sarah in this place, and we need new mums to feel that they can become MPs, so it is incumbent upon the system to make s…”