Constituency office

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The constituency office of Nigel Adams in Tadcaster, 2019 Nigel Adams constituency office, High Street, Tadcaster (26th August 2019).jpg
The constituency office of Nigel Adams in Tadcaster, 2019

A constituency office, also called an electorate office, is an office operated by a local political officeholder, such as a Member of Parliament (MP), within the area they represent. It may be used to have meetings with constituents, or administration for the officeholder. It can serve a similar function to a surgery, but is normally based in a fixed office. Sometimes officeholders may also have offices in or around the legislature they serve in, which may serve a similar function but are normally not in the officeholder's constituency.

Contents

Australia

Members of the House of Representatives are entitled to between one and three electorate offices depending upon the size of their constituency, while members of the Senate are each entitled to one office. [1]

Canada

Some Members of Provincial Parliaments (MPPs) in Canada, for example in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, maintain constituency offices. [2] [3] [4]

Ireland

Constituency office of former Labour senator, Jimmy Harte, in Letterkenny, County Donegal Jimmy Harte Constituency Office, Letterkenny - geograph.org.uk - 2505010 (cropped).jpg
Constituency office of former Labour senator, Jimmy Harte, in Letterkenny, County Donegal

It is common, in Ireland, for TDs to maintain constituency offices. [5] These offices are maintained in the TD's home constituency, and are covered by a "constituency office establishment allowance", [6] [7] and other allowances for some of the costs in running the office. [8]

In January 2024, the constituency office of TD Holly Cairns was reportedly closed due to "safety concerns". [9] [10] In February 2024, the office of Offaly TD Carol Nolan was vandalised. [11] [12]

New Zealand

All members of the New Zealand Parliament are entitled to an electorate office, and two electoral secretaries. [13] [14] Although there is nothing requiring MPs to have an electorate office, taxpayer-funded electorate secretaries are not allowed to work out of Parliament buildings. [14] After her's was attacked in 2022, Prime Minister Jacinda Arden described their use as "they help them [constituents] with housing issues, immigration issues, welfare issues" and that such issues were happening "consistently". [15]

In 1996 Labour list MPs announced that they would begin to set up parliamentary offices. [16]

Tonga

The establishment of constituency offices was approved by the Tongan Parliament in 2019. [17]

United Kingdom

Constituency offices are common in the UK, especially for established MPs. [18] Unlike surgeries, where 'drop-in' sessions are common, some meetings in constituency offices may require booking. [19]

Offices are regulated by the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, which provides support with rent, deposits, and valuation. Most MPs have a constituency office and a Westminster office, although not all. [20]

Following the murder of Jo Cox in 2016, MPs were reportedly offered access to additional security measures for their homes and constituency offices, leading to an increase in spending on such measures up to 2018. [21]

Members of the devolved Northern Ireland Assembly, Scottish Parliament, and Welsh Parliament can also maintain constituency offices. [22] [23] [24]

Related Research Articles

A Teachta Dála, abbreviated as TD, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas. It is the equivalent of terms such as Member of Parliament (MP) or Member of Congress used in other countries. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", although a more literal translation is "Assembly Delegate".

A whip is an official of a political party whose task is to ensure party discipline in a legislature. This means ensuring that members of the party vote according to the party platform, rather than according to their own individual ideology or the will of their donors or constituents. Whips are the party's "enforcers". They work to ensure that their fellow political party legislators attend voting sessions and vote according to their party's official policy. Members who vote against party policy may "lose the whip", being effectively expelled from the party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dáil constituencies</span> Constituencies used in elections to Dáil Éireann

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laois–Offaly (Dáil constituency)</span> Dáil constituency (1921–2016, 2020–present)

Laois–Offaly is a parliamentary constituency which is represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 5 deputies on the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV). It was previously a constituency from 1921 to 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1922 Irish general election</span>

The 1922 Irish general election took place in Southern Ireland on Friday, 16 June. The election was separately called by a resolution of Dáil Éireann on 19 May and by an order of the Provisional Government on 27 May. The body elected was thus both the Third Dáil and provisional parliament replacing the parliament of Southern Ireland, under the provisions of the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty to elect a constituent assembly paving the way for the formal establishment of the Irish Free State. From 6 December 1922, it continued as the Dáil Éireann of the Irish Free State.

Dublin South-West is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 5 deputies on the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).

This is a list of records relating to the Oireachtas, the national parliament of Ireland, which consists of the President of Ireland, and two Houses, Dáil Éireann, a house of representatives whose members are known as Teachtaí Dála or TDs, and Seanad Éireann, a senate whose members are known as senators.

National University of Ireland (NUI) is a university constituency in Ireland, which elects three senators to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas. Its electorate is the graduates of the university, which has a number of constituent universities. It previously elected members to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom (1918–1921), to the House of Commons of Southern Ireland (1921) and to Dáil Éireann (1918–1936).

Dublin University is a university constituency in Ireland, which elects three senators to Seanad Éireann, the senate of the Oireachtas. Its electorate comprises the undergraduate scholars and graduates of the University of Dublin, whose sole constituent college is Trinity College Dublin, so it is often also referred to as the Trinity College constituency. Between 1613 and 1937 it elected MPs or TDs to a series of representative legislative bodies.

Liam Hyland is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who was an elected representative for over 25 years, as a Senator, Teachta Dála (TD) and Member of the European Parliament (MEP).

The Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in London on 6 December 1921 and Dáil Éireann voted to approve the treaty on 7 January 1922, following a debate through late December 1921 and into January 1922. The vote was 64 in favour, 57 against, with the Ceann Comhairle and 3 others not voting. The Sinn Féin party split into opposing sides in the aftermath of the Treaty vote, which led to the Irish Civil War from June 1922 to May 1923.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Kelly (Sinn Féin politician)</span> Irish politician (1868–1942)

Thomas Kelly was an Irish Sinn Féin and later Fianna Fáil politician. He was a book and picture dealer before entering politics. He was a founder member of Sinn Féin and was elected to Dublin City Council in 1899. Kelly was arrested after the 1916 Easter Rising and sent to prison in England, and after becoming seriously ill, he was released back to Dublin.

David Rice Kent was an Irish Sinn Féin politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luke 'Ming' Flanagan</span> Irish independent politician (b. 1972)

Luke 'Ming' Flanagan is an Irish politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland for the Midlands–North-West constituency since 2014. He is an independent, but sits in parliament with The Left in the European Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seanad Éireann</span> Upper house of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament)

Seanad Éireann is the upper house of the Oireachtas, which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann.

Laois was a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas, from 2016 to 2020, and to again be used for future elections. The constituency will again elect 3 deputies. The method of election was proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).

Offaly was a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas, from 2016 to 2020, and, to again be used for future elections. The constituency will again elect 3 deputies. The method of election was proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dáil Éireann</span> House of representatives of the Oireachtas (Irish parliament)

Dáil Éireann is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann. It consists of 160 members, each known as a Teachta Dála. TDs represent 39 constituencies and are directly elected for terms not exceeding five years, on the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (PR-STV). Its powers are similar to those of lower houses under many other bicameral parliamentary systems and it is by far the dominant branch of the Oireachtas. Subject to the limits imposed by the Constitution of Ireland, it has power to pass any law it wishes, and to nominate and remove the Taoiseach. Since 1922, it has met in Leinster House in Dublin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carol Nolan</span> Irish independent politician

Carol Nolan is an Irish independent politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Laois–Offaly constituency since the 2020 general election, and previously from 2016 to 2020 for the Offaly constituency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisa Chambers</span> Irish Fianna Fáil politician (b. 1986)

Lisa Chambers is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician, and former barrister who has served as Leader of the Seanad since December 2022. She served as deputy leader of the Seanad from 2020 to 2022, and as Leader of Fianna Fáil in the Seanad since June 2020. She previously served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Mayo constituency from 2016 to 2020.

References

  1. ↑ "Office types and office resources". Australian Government Department of Finance. 25 July 2023. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  2. ↑ "Contact an MPP". ola.org. Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  3. ↑ "MPP contact information: constituency offices". ola.org. Legislative Assembly of Ontario. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  4. ↑ Koop, Royce (June 2012). "Party Constituency Associations and the Service, Policy and Symbolic Responsiveness of Canadian Members of Parliament". Canadian Journal of Political Science. Canadian Political Science Association. 45 (2): 359–378. doi:10.1017/S0008423912000364. JSTOR   23320975. S2CID   1546034.
  5. ↑ "Opinion: Duncan Smith: Constituency clinics are vital for many". Irish Examiner. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  6. ↑ "Other allowances - Constituency office establishment allowance". oireachtas.ie. Houses of the Oireachtas. Retrieved 27 February 2024. If a TD chooses to have an office presence in his or her own constituency they can reclaim some of the costs associated with setting up that office
  7. ↑ "S.I. No. 84/2010 - Oireachtas (Allowances and Facilities) Regulations 2010". irishstatutebook.ie. 2010. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  8. ↑ "Revealed: how much in expenses your local TD claimed in 2021". Irish Independent. 22 October 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2024. TDs can claim the cost of their constituency office energy bills [..] It can also be used to pay for utility bills associated with running an office
  9. ↑ "Closure of Holly Cairns' constituency office over safety concerns 'shocking', says Cork councillor". breakingnews.ie. 29 January 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  10. ↑ "'Sad day for democracy' when TD's constituency office forced to close over security concerns". The Journal. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  11. ↑ "TD vows to continue 'undeterred' after attack on constituency office". Mayo Live. 27 February 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  12. ↑ "Laois Offaly TDs constituency office window smashed". Ireland Live. 26 February 2024. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  13. ↑ "GUIDE TO THE NEW ZEALAND PARLIAMENT" (PDF). European Parliament. 2009. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  14. 1 2 Boyd, Sarah (21 November 1996). "Prebble sees no need for electorate office" . Evening Post. ProQuest   314458072 . Retrieved 29 February 2024– via ProQuest.
  15. ↑ Leahy, Ben (28 October 2022). "Ardern on office attack: 'Extremely upsetting' incidents becoming more common". NZ Herald. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  16. ↑ "List MPs to set up electorate offices" . Timaru Herald. 26 November 1996. p. 12. ProQuest   313890416 . Retrieved 29 February 2024– via ProQuest.
  17. ↑ Lee, Irra (3 March 2020). "Tongan Parliamentary staff exchange knowledge with NZ counterparts". RNZ. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
  18. ↑ Hofstetter, Emily; Stokoe, Elizabeth (August 2018). "Getting service at the constituency office: Analyzing citizens' encounters with their Member of Parliament". Text & Talk . 38 (5): 551–573. doi:10.1515/text-2018-0014. S2CID   149502647.
  19. ↑ Costa, Alberto. "Constituency Office". albertocosta.org.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  20. ↑ "Surviving your first week in the constituency office". Working for MPs. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  21. ↑ "Sir David Amess killing: Should MPs still be able to meet the public?". BBC. 16 October 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2024. All MPs were offered panic buttons [..] and emergency fobs at their homes and constituency offices [..] The spending on such measures soared from £170,576 in 2015/16 to £4.5m two years later
  22. ↑ McDaid, Brendan (24 July 2020). "Foyle MLA Sinead McLaughlin opens new constituency office in Derry". Derry Journal. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  23. ↑ Smith, Neil (19 June 2023). "Labour leader Anas Sarwar opens MSP's new office in North Ayrshire". Largs and Millport Weekly News. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
  24. ↑ Mosalski, Ruth; Clements, Laura; Stephens, Lydia; John, Lucy; Lewis, Ffion; O'Neill, Ryan (6 June 2021). "The significant sums spent by Senedd Members on expenses". Wales Online. Retrieved 1 March 2024.
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