“I wanted and still want to change the world” is a bold and colossal statement but this is exactly why Fiona McTaggart decided to become a local MP. According to McTaggart, Labour MP for Slough, there is no ‘typical’ working day in her life. She spends most of Monday to Thursday in Parliament asking ministers questions, debating, and voting on legislation. She also attends meetings with lobby groups, backbench, and all party groups.When the weekend rolls around, there is no time for rest and McTaggart is based in Slough visiting local schools and other public service bodies, as well as getting hands-on and visiting constituents' houses to talk with them about their concerns. However, even then things can get complicated and she may have to change her timetable and be in parliament on Friday if there is very important business e.g. the hunting bill. There is always time for a little relaxation though and her Monday evenings are spent rehearsing with the Parliament choir.
McTaggart realises that there are important issues within Slough that need to be addressed and she feels that the main problems are: local skills shortages, high crime rate, and health. She admits, “People in Slough still die younger than the surrounding area and have high incidence of coronary disease and strokes. We have narrowed the gap since I have been MP but we need to go further.”
She also believes that the Slough community has become increasingly divided, which is a result of financial difficulties, which the council has blamed the government and immigration for. She feels it is her particular responsibility to promote community cohesion, as well as supporting the council’s argument for funding.
Being a MP is clearly not a predictable lifestyle and McTaggart seems keen to get involved in all parts of her community if she can. She once rescued a family pet parrot from being executed by customs and excise, and even got a minister involved!
McTaggart has clear views about whether MPs should have priority over others in Parliament. In certain instances she believes they need to be prioritised e.g. “non-members are not supposed to use the lifts when votes have been called”. However, when asked about recent speculation in the media of MPs queue – jumping for dinners, she states, “I think queuing is a splendid expression of Britishness and I have never barged a queue because I am an MP.”
1 comment:
As an assignment we were given the task of interviewing our local MP and writing up a brief article on it. As we had just a week to complete the task, it seemed like quite daunting and I was quite apprehensive.
I emailed Fiona McTaggart and she replied that she was very busy, as a week was short notice but that she would be more than happy to answer any questions that I emailed her.
I was slightly worried about having to base an article on the rigid answers of an email (mainly because this was my first real interview!), however Fiona was extremely helpful in answering my questions, and gave me long, detailed answers to what I asked.
From reading her answers I found it quite easy to find the tone that I needed for the piece. She made it clear that she was a very hard worker but that she also liked to relax, and was very approachable.
Therefore I wrote the article as I imagined best represented her – in an informative but laid-back style.
I genuinely found it an interesting assignment, as previously I wasn’t really aware of the main problems in my area, and I also found myself really agreeing with some of her views.
However I did not want to push one opinion forward and I found myself rewriting paragraphs a few times so that it did not seem as if I was trying to attack anybody.
If we had more time for this article, I would have loved to verbally interview Fiona McTaggart, as there were a few questions I wanted to ask in respond to her answers.
Post a Comment