I've been training to become an adviser at my local Citizens Advice Bureau since June now, my job in Parliament having ended in May, and the change is refreshing.
I learnt a lot from Parliament, and I don't think there was much more for me to learn after my one and a half years there, but one thing I did learn was that changing national policy is not easy or even possible usually. At least from the vantage point of a Parliamentary Aide, or even a backbench MP. At a local level, its easy to get frustrated if many people have the same problem, a problem you can solve for them individually with time and resources, but which would not even exist if the national policy was written better. However, get into Parliament, try lobbying and it's slow work: seldom rewarding, lots of positive words but very little action.
At Citizens Advice, I can give tangible help to up to 10 people a day, all from my local area, on issues ranging from employers not paying their employees, bailiffs knocking on client's doors, people being sold shoddy products, clients with large debts, to families about to be evicted from their homes.
At the same time I can make a note of the issues and tell the national charity Citizens Advice who are respected by the Government and occasionally listened to - that's why landlords are now legally obliged to hold deposits in tenancy protection schemes. I can also write to our local MPs and the press about the issues on behalf of the bureau with real tangible evidence. I expect it makes little difference, but better to do the two in tandem on the off chance that it might occasionally pay off.
I am learning a lot, which for me is an essential quality for a job, and I currently need to read up on how Citizens Advice handles debt issues. I have given advice at a mental health centre as well as at the bureau and hope to be able to give advice at local children's centres soon. I love working with local people in the real world, and if I ever decide I want to go back to the stage of local or national politics, this will have been an invaluable experience.
