A Kent MP's first working week at Westminster

By Hannah Ratcliffe
BBC Kent

Portcullis House is to the bottom right with a row of chimneys around the roof

I arranged to meet Charlie Elphicke, the newly elected MP for Dover and Deal, to find out how he is settling in to his new job in Westminster.

Just before Big Ben struck ten o'clock I stepped into Portcullis House, a large building across the road from the Houses of Parliament.

It was built in the 1990s to provide offices for 210 Members of Parliament and their staff.

My bag is scanned, my face photographed and printed on a square of paper and hung round my neck on a black cord with "visitor" in black capitals printed above it.

Charlie meets me and takes me through to the glass roofed atrium. The café called The Despatch Box is busy with a constant short queue of people ordering their morning caffeine.

We sit at a table with the sound of energetic chatter surrounding us.

Charlie explains it is all a little overwhelming, "You get elected, you're completely shocked, you think 'what do I do now?' Suddenly you're in on Monday and you think 'oh my goodness, I've got this job to do'."

Tracking down help

Tory Charlie Elphicke took Dover and Deal from Labour

Charlie's first task was to find an experienced secretary and a researcher to work with him to achieve his pledges for Dover and Deal.

"The more senior parliamentarians will always be helpful but this is an environment where frankly you sink or swim. No one hands anything on a plate to you."

"I needed to find a really great secretary, really experienced, who knows how to get things done in Parliament.

"I put out feelers to people I know and this lady's member of Parliament had retired. They pointed me down in a direction underneath the main building, sort of two floors down in a darkened room, full of secretaries!

"I spoke to her and said 'I really need your help, I can't do this on my own, I need to deliver for the people of Dover, will you help me because I need someone who's really experienced who can do a great job?' I'm delighted to say she said yes!"

Charlie explains that the Houses of Parliament are an "intensely personal place."

"A lot of business is done literally is done over a cup of coffee, you know it's quiet words and a quiet pressure can make an awful difference."

Getting an office

It takes at least month for new MPs to get their own office space so in the meantime Charlie is squatting in the office of Stephen Hammond, a returning parliamentarian for Wimbledon.

"He's been extremely kind in allowing me to use part of a desk. It's really helpful because he's given me a lot of guidance on what to do and how to get things done."

After the 2010 general election there are a record number of first time MPs at Westminster.

Over half of the total 650 MPs are all starting their careers at Westminster this year. In Kent, nine of the seventeen constituencies are now represented by first time MPs.

2010 election results in Kent

Finding your way around

We walk under the road into the Palace of Westminster and head towards the central lobby. Other people are also walking in the same direction, all of us at a good pace.

The atmosphere does feel charged with anticipation, excitement and nerves as old hands and newbies mix together, before the full timetable of parliamentary life gets going.

Central lobby between the Commons and the Lords

Although there is a lot MPs have to get on with on their own, they do get some support.

Charlie describes his first week as, "mainly what they call induction. It is really like the first day at school, meetings on how things work, what to do, how to behave and how to effectively do the job from more senior parliamentarians."

We reach the central lobby a vaulted ceiling hall with the House of Lords to the left and the House of Commons to the right. Unsure of the rules, Charlie asks the guard if he is allowed to show a visitor the House of Commons.

Both the Commons and the Lords are smaller than they appear on television. However, the grandeur of the building is no less.

The lobby is lit by a large chandelier, the archways are decorated with stone sculptures of past Kings, the roof is patterned with heraldic shields and statues of famous politicians look down on you.

As we stand amongst it all I ask Charlie what it feels like to have been elected to be here.

He replies, "Absolutely unreal and stunning. First of all you just simply think you don't belong and then, I s'pose like all these things, over time you then realise that actually it doesn't really matter about that, there's a job to be done, get on with the job."

Charlie has high hopes for the future of Dover and Deal and is eager to deliver his promises to his constituents. Even in his first week in the job he is very aware of the responsibility he now has.

"I have 72,000 bosses who I have to work hard for and that has to be my focus."