What does it mean to be a member of parliament? What do people expect from their elected representatives? And how much have these expectations changed in recent years?

The row about MPs’ second jobs has triggered a discussion about what MPs are for and what their priorities should be. From representing constituents and dealing with casework to scrutinising government and improving legislation, MPs have many responsibilities.

So how should an MP divide his or her time? How has this changed over recent years? Should MPs be taking on extra paid work outside parliament? And what do constituents ultimately want from their representative?

To discuss these questions and more, the IfG brought together an expert panel:

• Tim Bale, Professor of Politics at Queen Mary, University of London
• Sir Peter Bottomley, Conservative MP for Worthing West
• Ben Lake, Plaid Cymru MP for Ceredigion
• Marie Le Conte, political journalist and author

This event was chaired by Dr Catherine Haddon, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government.

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