My Week in Westminster – the Royal Society MP-Scientist Pairing Scheme and Me.

Dr Alice Jones
Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London

 
Two weeks ago, I took part in the Royal Society’s MP-Scientist Pairing scheme, which allows scientists from all walks of life to spend time finding out how the government interacts with science and scientists, and to spend some time shadowing an MP or civil servant. The scheme celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, and has included such parliamentary participants as Nick Clegg, Dr Evan Harris, and Dame Anne Begg (the latter two having taken part in numerous years). For me, this meant shadowing my own (and Goldsmiths’) MP, the Rt Hon Joan Ruddock, MP for Lewisham-Deptford.

We met our fellow scientists on Sunday night, with a thoughtful dinner organised by the excellent staff from the Royal Society, Jason and Kate. Dinner gave us a chance to meet each other, and to find out a little about the many and varied labs, units and departments that we represented; biologists, geneticists, psychologists, computer scientists, chemists, geologists and physicists (and everyone that I’ve missed). Just that Sunday night was fascinating, and I learnt more over dinner than I would have done at home with 'Downton Abbey'.

We started bright and early on Monday morning. Aided by caffeine, we assembled in Black Rod’s Garden, and were taken on a tour of the Palace of Westminster. Having lived in London for many years, I felt silly for not having done this earlier – our tour guide was excellent, filling the time with all the stories and gossip about the building and its illustrious inhabitants. After this fun introduction, it was time to get down to business. The next day and a half were packed with interesting and involving discussions how Parliament and government engages with scientists to inform policy and act in an emergency, finding out just how many scientists there are in government (not many) and in the civil service (not very many either), and an active discussion on science research and funding (you know what I mean). As a relative junior in the group, it was inspiring and exciting for me to hear the thoughts and feelings of much senior colleagues about issues relating to recent funding strategies and engagement with the science community.

We then spent time with the MP or civil servant that we had been paired with. I finished this week full of admiration for the work that my MP fits into her day. During just one day at Westminster, we covered a broad range of engagements, including meeting a group of primary school children from my MP’s constituency who had come to learn about parliament with the excellent Education Service. The children were full of questions for their MP, including one observant young man’s “there aren’t many pictures of women around, are there many women MPs?” He definitely asked that question to the right woman… .  We had an opportunity to talk, and for me to learn, about how being an MP really works. I was grateful that Joan was both candid and informative – it was brilliant for me to learn about a job from someone who clearly loves and believes in it so passionately.

 
(Joan Ruddock and Alice Jones at the Royal Society)

I learned a bit more about this passion that evening, when I stayed late into the evening to sit up in the Public Gallery to hear my MP make a speech. The rowdy circus of PMQs is one thing, but listening to individuals make informed statements, and hold debate is quite another – it is a side of politics that people rarely see, and really illustrated the interest and care that those members took to represent their own constituents. A good MP also needs to be a fast learner – it seems to be imperative that you are an expert in everything and anything that might affect your constituency, and then also the various committees and groups that you might be a part of – this is not a job for the faint of brain. As an aside, I should also tell you that on my way home on the train one evening, I happened to find myself sitting next to the MP for Huddersfield, Barry Sheerman, who told me that he had taken part in the scheme in 2007 and 2009, and thought it was an excellent idea.

At the end of the week in Westminster, the Royal Society gathered us back up and treated us to a tour behind the scenes of the Royal Society, including a peek at the original RS charter book – nearly 350 years worth of who’s who of brilliant scientists, with their own quill and inked signatures. We finished with a fascinating insight into how the Royal Society carries out policy work, and how scientists might involve themselves by suggesting areas for policy-related research, or by offering expertise. Interesting to many of us was the drop-out rate of scientists from PhD to Professor (less than half a percent make it all the way), and many of us wondered how we could improve the diversity of those who do remain. The Royal Society’s ‘The Scientific Century’ (2010) is a sobering and useful read on this and how the government and research councils might best engage with the scientific community.

In the next few weeks, we will be continuing our pairing relationship by going outside of Westminster. I will be spending another day with Joan in her constituency, where I have no doubt there will be a whole new side of the job to learn. I will also host Joan at Goldsmiths (where she is an Honorary Fellow), and introduce her to the work being done in my own Unit for School and Family Studies. Without wanting to spoil the surprise, I plan for us to meet some of our current postgraduate and undergraduate students and hear about their work, and to go and visit some of the schools who are currently partnering us in research on bullying and underachievement.

I finished the week feeling inspired and fired up, and full of admiration for the scientists, MPs and civil servants that I had spent time with. It is reassuring to discover that many members of parliament are actively interested in science and research, and that they are wiling and able to enter into dialogue with scientists. This is not an easy time for many of us and concerns about funding seem to be pertinent to everyone. However, schemes like this allow some discussion and feedback and help scientists to realise how they can most effectively have a say in scientific and policy strategy. The Royal Society is able to offer a scheme that has been very popular with everyone who took part (this year, and years past) and I hope that many more will be able to benefit from this scheme in the future.