A grandfather from a Midlands pit village and a former refugee from Liberia are among those chosen for a new Westminster internship scheme. The Speaker's Parliamentary Placements initiative is designed to open up access to politics to people from poorer or disadvantaged backgrounds. The interns will spend a year working for an MP and will receive a pro-rata salary £17,500.
Earlier this year, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he wanted to ban unpaid, unofficial internships in Westminster. Critics say they are unfair to those who cannot afford to work for free or who do not have the personal connections to access them.
More than 250 people applied to take part in the scheme and the chosen 10 will begin their work this week. They come from across the country, including Stoke, Salford, Glasgow, Liverpool and London, and are varied in age and background.
Among the MPs taking part are Ed Miliband, Simon Danczuk and Siobhan McDonagh for Labour, Jo Swinson and Mike Crockart for the Lib Dems, and Helen Grant, Esther McVeigh and Amber Rudd for the Conservatives.
One intern, Alan Kean, is a grandfather from the Midlands, who left school without any qualifications. He has held a range of manual and administrative jobs, as well as working as a trade unionist. "At 54, I have decided to pursue a career rather than having a series of jobs," he said. "My participation in this scheme will hopefully provide the skills to pursue a career in the political field and inspire other people from a similar background to apply in the future."
Another of those taking part is graduate job seeker Abdul Turay, who grew up in war-torn Liberia and came to the UK aged 17. He has since completed a Masters Degree at the University of Bradford. "Being involved in politics would be an opportunity to be able to speak and represent the voiceless and most vulnerable people in our society," he said. "It is way to make a different no matter how big or small."
Labour MP Hazel Blears, who set up the scheme, said she wanted it to recruit people from traditional working class backgrounds.
Jordan, GRB Journalist
