Annual Salary
£91,000 to £114,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
Swap to Law or Politics or go back to all job sectors
Swap to Law or Politics or go back to all job sectors
MPs represent people's concerns and interests in the House of Commons.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: evenings; away from home
There will be
3.4% more MP jobs in 2027.
As an MP, you'll attend sessions in Parliament to:
Outside Parliament, you'll:
Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding and you may spend nights away from home.
You can get into this job by being elected by voters in the constituency you wish to represent.
Most people show their commitment through campaigning and volunteering for their party.
You could also:
Contact your local councillors or your student office to ask about opportunities to volunteer with them.
To become an MP, you have to be elected in a byelection or general election. You can stand for election as a member of a political party or as an independent candidate.
Each political party has its own selection procedure. Usually, you'll need to get the support of your party's nominating officer before you can become a candidate.
During an election, you'll be expected to campaign in public and online, attend meetings, make speeches and talk to the local media. You'll find it helpful to have some experience in one or more of these areas.
You'll need to:
You'll need a good understanding of local and national issues, and keep up to date with current affairs.
The Houses of Parliament offer the following schemes to get involved:Parliamentary Academy Scheme; Speaker's Parliamentary Placement Scheme; House of Commons Apprenticeship Scheme; House of Lords Apprenticeship Scheme; Undergraduate Sandwich Student Placements
Find more information about parliamentary work placements and apprenticeship programmes.
You can get more advice about becoming an MP from UK Parliament.
You can also find information about working for an MP from Working for an MP (W4MP).
General elections are held every 5 years, so it can take some time to become an elected MP.
With experience, you might get the opportunity to:take on extra responsibilities like chairing committees; move from junior minister to minister, then to cabinet minister if your party is in power; become a party whip or party leader; be a spokesperson on certain issues or have responsibilities in a shadow cabinet if your party is in opposition
10 Steps into Politics
You'll need: