The Mace guide to being a novice MP

Brooks Newmark | Comment, Magazine

From the Archive

overlay

Still finding your way around the Palace? Not sure where to sit in the Chamber? Former minister Brooks Newmark is here to assist

We’re sure many of you are finding it surreal having the letters ‘MP’ after your name. When I was elected in 2005, at the third time of trying, I couldn’t believe it. When the returning officer announced me as the winner, I hadn’t dared to write a speech for fear of jinxing the result. There are several challenges you will face as a new MP. The first is handling the media. Immediately, you are a ‘public person’ but your priority is always your local media: they are the direct voice to your constituents. Get to know everyone’s name and offer the local editor to write a weekly or monthly column. The national media are different. They’re not always your friend (trust me on this). Their stories can be unhelpful to both you and the party (that might be the former whip in me speaking). On social media, everyone suddenly thinks that they can abuse you. It may be tempting to reply to obnoxious comments: resist the temptation. These online battles are psychologically debilitating and give oxyge...

Subscribe to The Mace

Join the member community shaping British politics and stay ahead of what's really happening in the world of politics and public affairs, with expert analysis, breaking news, and insider insights from Westminster and Brussels. The Mace is the leading news source and resource for the government affairs industry, offering required reading and lobby intelligence for professionals.

To see what you are missing out on by not subscribing to The Mace, click here to download our full membership info-pack. This includes having no paywall on op-ed content or profiles/interviews, allowing professional profiles to be read with maximum impact and visibility by government, special advisers, MPs, peers, civil servants, and policy and political decision-makers.



What James Purnell’s return to No 10, along with the new cabinet, reveals about Burnham’s Labour network

Mark Leftly | July 21, 2026

James Purnell’s return to frontline politics is more than a nostalgic Blair-Brown era reunion. As Andy Burnham builds his Downing Street operation, public affairs professionals will need to

Ann Widdecombe Devon hamlet murder mystery continues as tributes make her a political saint

William Cash | July 16, 2026

The death of Ann Widdecombe raises serious questions about the security of high-profile politicians. The shocking episode seems out of Midsomer Murders with the former Tory minister being turned into

The Families Left Out of the Nicotine Policy Debate

Beatriz Santos | July 15, 2026

Beatriz Santos argues that both scientific evidence and lived experience should remain the foundation of policymaking, especially for understanding how people succeed in quitting cigarettes.

Olly Robbins shows Whitehall is prepared to hold Westminster to account

Lucy Carrier-Pilkington | July 14, 2026

The former head of the Foreign Office is now taking legal action, putting the government's treatment of senior civil servants under fresh scrutiny.

Kemi is right to lift the white, Oxbridge fatwa and purge the Conservative party of non-Tories

William Cash | July 10, 2026

Overhauling the Tory candidates list is a shrewd political move which will allow her to put her own stamp on the party, and more importantly, shape its future,

Burnham is right: The future lies with devolution

Gill Morris | July 1, 2026

After Andy Burnham's first major speech since the resignation, devolution has been the word on everyone's lips - Gill Morris explains why it's the way forward.

Caroline Simpson: Why devolution needs this technocrat

Lucy Carrier-Pilkington | July 1, 2026

Amid the frenzy over who Burnham will choose as his chancellor, his shrewd appointment of Caroline Simpson to lead No. 10 North has been overlooked.

UK’s £4.7 billion Defence black hole: Dan Jarvis is inheriting a defence settlement Britain can no longer afford

Mace Magazine | July 1, 2026

Britain cannot afford to fall behind its NATO allies on defence spending, writes Jasset Harlech.

CPAC GB 2026: “Save Britain, save the West” 

Mace | June 30, 2026

Introducing the inaugural Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on British soil, a landmark expansion of the world's premier conservative networking brand.  

Merkel’s Legacy is in Tatters

Azeem Ibrahim OBE | June 30, 2026

How Angela Merkel Weakened the West and Handed Putin and Xi Leverage