New boys settle into life as an MP

Newly elected MPs have been turning up, fresh from their constituency victories, to find themselves baffled by the maze that is the Palace of Westminster and feeling very much like the new boys or girls.

Swindon’s two new representatives, Robert Buckland and Justin Tomlinson, are no exception, but after days of training courses and learning their way around, not to mention the odd party meeting to discuss the new coalition arrangements, they are now getting down to business.

Both have had more than a few bizarre experiences since they started work.

Mr Tomlinson got completely lost on one of his first days and walked into a kitchen and then a cloakroom before a helpful member of staff pointed him in the right direction.

Meanwhile, Mr Buckland said he had been mistaken for the IT support man when he walked into his office for the first time in casual clothes.

Yesterday, they took their oaths of allegiance to the Queen and her descendants, and were formally sworn in to the House of Commons.

As with most things in Parliament, there is a strict order of seniority, with the oldest serving member of the house sworn in first, followed by the other members in order of seniority.

Shortly before lunch on Thursday, Mr Buckland followed by Mr Tomlinson filed into the House where they both swore their allegiance on the Bible, signed the register and shook hands with the speaker John Bercow.

Mr Buckland said: “It was emotional. You finally realise that this isn’t play anymore, it’s real.”

Mr Tomlinson summed up the last few weeks as an MP.

He said: “I have been really excited, really proud and I keep having to remind myself I’m not a tourist here.

“At times it’s been quite nerve-wracking and overwhelming – the world doesn’t wait for you to find your feet.”

It certainly has been a whirlwind since the two were elected and they are currently staying with friends in London while they find a place to live and are camped out in temporary offices while their permanent office is decided upon.

They intend to share an office in both Westminster and Swindon so they can work closely together and share some of the costs but are still waiting to find out where their Westminster office will be. Sometimes the slick machine of Parliament isn’t quite what you expect.

Mr Tomlinson said: “On the first day we had to turn up with our passports but also clutching our campaign leaflets so that the security staff knew who we were.”

Mr Buckland has managed to find himself a temporary desk in Transport Secretary Theresa Villiers’s office surrounded by boxes in the Norman Shaw building, the former Scotland Yard where many MPs’ offices used to be; while Mr Tomlinson is in the Chamberlain Room in the main Parliament building, sitting just across from his old university friend Chris Kelly, the new MP for Dudley South.

Back in 1997, when they were both still at Oxford Brookes University, The Sun newspaper placed bets in their names that either of the two would end up as Prime Minister at odds of 10,000/1 - it seems their £500,000 windfall might not be such a pipe dream now.

Gradually they have been getting into a routine and are becoming used to the bells that ring around the building to signal that business is about to kick off in the House.

The day starts just before 8am and is spent either in training or in party meetings before perhaps a meeting with some lobbyists, doing case work for constituents, sifting through the hundreds of emails they receive and then eventually finishes at about 10.30-11pm.

On Thursday Mr Buckland met up with two members of the National Autistic Society – Mr Buckland’s eight-year-old daughter Millie is on the autistic spectrum and the issue is very close to his heart – to discuss a new campaign they are launching and to see if he would support it.

He said he would see whether he could table an adjournment debate on the issue and ask some questions in the House.

Mr Tomlinson said: “Often in Westminster you think you are ahead of the game, but you will have been in a meeting only to come out and find out that David Cameron is on his way to see the Queen for instance.”

One of the most important things to decide is which committees they would like to sit on – Mr Buckland has plumped for those on law and order and education, while Mr Tomlinson has put his name forward for local government, leisure and culture, and business.

But there are also the more light-hearted groups, such as the annual tug-of-war committee and the Parliamentary football team, which keen footballer Mr Tomlinson has asked to join.

While the Swindon Advertiser was with the two, they found out that the rules on the Conservative’s 1922 committee for backbenchers was to change and front benchers would also be allowed to sit on it and vote. Mr Buckland had voted against this but Mr Tomlinson had supported the idea.

But while committees are important the really exciting stuff takes place in the House of Commons and the two are relishing the opportunity to make their maiden speeches.

Mr Tomlinson said: “Just being in the same room as all the people you have seen on television is incredible.

“It really brings home the fact that we are members of Parliament and we have a vote.”

Mr Buckland added: “To play a part and make a speech in Parliament really sets the seal on the whole process.”