TOM HOWARD / HOMEWORK EXERCISE 16/10/07 MP INTERVIEW
Oliver Heald MP, Hertfordshire North East
The large Hertfordshire North East constituency is overseen by Member of Parliament Oliver Heald.
Elected to the constituency in 1992, the 53-year-old lives in Royston, is married with three children, has a Law Masters from Cambridge and practised as a barrister specialising in employment law.
A Conservative since 1974, he held senior posts at regional and national levels before becoming a Conservative Shadow Cabinet member in 2002.
Recently however, by mutual agreement with David
Cameron, July 2007 saw Mr Heald step away from the front-benches for the first time in 13 high-profile years of service.
With stagnancy partly to blame for the Conservative election loss in 1997, Mr Heald realised it was the appropriate time for him to return to the back-benches to help refresh the Shadow Cabinet under Cameron, but maintains that a back-bench position does not mean taking a back seat.
Oliver Heald now spends more time in his constituency, working long hours in which he meets with lobbyis
ts, visits schools and institutions, and attends civic and charity events. Currently producing the constituency’s annual report, he also regularly discusses issues such as deregulation with businesses.
Mr Heald gets over 10,000 letters a year from constituents on wide-ranging issues, asking for help. He said: “I was once asked to wing walk, but the strangest request I’ve had asked me to personally unblock someone’s drains.”
He still remain
s active in the House of Commons despite his back-bench position, posing 1,000 questions in the last year alone. His lawyerly background means he often scrutinises government bills during committee stages.
Oliver Heald is one of relatively few Conservatives to have kept their seat in Labour’s landslide 1997 general election victory. He described election night as “a crippling blow” where the Conservatives “were smashed, and needed to regroup. Politically, we had run out of steam, and the people wanted a change.”
Keeping his seat due to traditionally entrenched Conservative values in his constituency, Mr Heald reflected on the personal devastation that election night caused, especially for unlucky colleagues: “It was a shattering blow to see ones friends struggling to find jobs.”
He was returned as MP of his constituency in 2005, for the fourth time and with an increased majority.
His résumé now boasts roles including Shadow Minister-ships for Health and Work & Pensions, Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, Shadow Leader of the House and Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster.
ENDS
Word count: 399
REFLECTIVE REPORT:
The premise of this brief challenged us in the course’s first week by making us interview our local MP for an article about an MP’s day-to-day life and constituency responsibilities. A twist, however, was to ask them an outlandish question.
I was nervous to be conducting my first interview, especially when I discovered Oliver Heald’s turgid résumé.
I approached the article by first finding using www.google.com what constituency I was in, and who my MP was, having only just moved to the area.
Next, I researched Oliver Heald’s background. I looked at his official website (http://www.oliverhealdmp.com) to get information about him, his policies and projects by reading his biographical “About Me” page. I decided to focus on his experiences of the 1997 general election, as this seemed an opportunity to get an interesting personal perspective.
I tried to contact him via his office but could reach him, only his secretary. Therefore I attended his weekly surgery, surprising him without warning thus guaranteeing a face-to-face interview.
I planned questions before attending based on his web-bio, being efficient and professional. He was on the back foot, but friendly and happy to talk. I realised interviews are not as difficult as I envisaged.
I took notes in longhand having only just started learning Teeline, so was only recorded limited verbatim quotes, but got plenty of information.
Inexperienced, I used a less formal style for my first draft, which also had only four lengthy paragraphs but was fact rich.
I redrafted it using a rough four paragraph introduction and loose “inverted triangle” approach, increased its readability and emphasising Mr Heald’s work locally. I added more quotes and extra information I left out originally due to the imposed word limit.
I also changed to a more narrative style, the original reading almost like an advert.
Word count: 300
Oliver Heald MP, Hertfordshire North East
The large Hertfordshire North East constituency is overseen by Member of Parliament Oliver Heald.
Elected to the constituency in 1992, the 53-year-old lives in Royston, is married with three children, has a Law Masters from Cambridge and practised as a barrister specialising in employment law.
A Conservative since 1974, he held senior posts at regional and national levels before becoming a Conservative Shadow Cabinet member in 2002.
Recently however, by mutual agreement with David
Cameron, July 2007 saw Mr Heald step away from the front-benches for the first time in 13 high-profile years of service.With stagnancy partly to blame for the Conservative election loss in 1997, Mr Heald realised it was the appropriate time for him to return to the back-benches to help refresh the Shadow Cabinet under Cameron, but maintains that a back-bench position does not mean taking a back seat.
Oliver Heald now spends more time in his constituency, working long hours in which he meets with lobbyis
ts, visits schools and institutions, and attends civic and charity events. Currently producing the constituency’s annual report, he also regularly discusses issues such as deregulation with businesses.Mr Heald gets over 10,000 letters a year from constituents on wide-ranging issues, asking for help. He said: “I was once asked to wing walk, but the strangest request I’ve had asked me to personally unblock someone’s drains.”
He still remain
s active in the House of Commons despite his back-bench position, posing 1,000 questions in the last year alone. His lawyerly background means he often scrutinises government bills during committee stages.Oliver Heald is one of relatively few Conservatives to have kept their seat in Labour’s landslide 1997 general election victory. He described election night as “a crippling blow” where the Conservatives “were smashed, and needed to regroup. Politically, we had run out of steam, and the people wanted a change.”
Keeping his seat due to traditionally entrenched Conservative values in his constituency, Mr Heald reflected on the personal devastation that election night caused, especially for unlucky colleagues: “It was a shattering blow to see ones friends struggling to find jobs.”
He was returned as MP of his constituency in 2005, for the fourth time and with an increased majority.
His résumé now boasts roles including Shadow Minister-ships for Health and Work & Pensions, Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, Shadow Leader of the House and Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster.
ENDS
Word count: 399
REFLECTIVE REPORT:
The premise of this brief challenged us in the course’s first week by making us interview our local MP for an article about an MP’s day-to-day life and constituency responsibilities. A twist, however, was to ask them an outlandish question.
I was nervous to be conducting my first interview, especially when I discovered Oliver Heald’s turgid résumé.
I approached the article by first finding using www.google.com what constituency I was in, and who my MP was, having only just moved to the area.
Next, I researched Oliver Heald’s background. I looked at his official website (http://www.oliverhealdmp.com) to get information about him, his policies and projects by reading his biographical “About Me” page. I decided to focus on his experiences of the 1997 general election, as this seemed an opportunity to get an interesting personal perspective.
I tried to contact him via his office but could reach him, only his secretary. Therefore I attended his weekly surgery, surprising him without warning thus guaranteeing a face-to-face interview.
I planned questions before attending based on his web-bio, being efficient and professional. He was on the back foot, but friendly and happy to talk. I realised interviews are not as difficult as I envisaged.
I took notes in longhand having only just started learning Teeline, so was only recorded limited verbatim quotes, but got plenty of information.
Inexperienced, I used a less formal style for my first draft, which also had only four lengthy paragraphs but was fact rich.
I redrafted it using a rough four paragraph introduction and loose “inverted triangle” approach, increased its readability and emphasising Mr Heald’s work locally. I added more quotes and extra information I left out originally due to the imposed word limit.
I also changed to a more narrative style, the original reading almost like an advert.
Word count: 300
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