Lincoln secures Parliament’s Approval for module

Parliament has approved the Parliamentary Studies module offered in the School of Social and Political Sciences. Although the school has worked closely with Parliament since 2016 to deliver this module, this year there was a competitive process for universities who wished to deliver it from 2024.

The module convenor, Associate Professor Dr Andrew Defty, noted: “That we have been awarded it again is testament to Lincoln’s commitment to teaching and research about Parliament.”

The module offers students the opportunity to meet MPs and others who work in Parliament, with the annual visit being the highlight. Fraser McFarland who was one of the speakers in the session on Working in Parliament during this year’s visit, is a Lincoln politics graduate and is now Chief of Staff to the Conservative MP, Brendan Clarke-Smith.

Another of our graduates, Callum Bailey, also works in Clarke-Smith’s office. Callum graduated three years ago and is an alumni of our School and the Parliamentary Studies module.

Another Lincoln politics graduate (and former student of Parliamentary Studies), is Sam Trendall. Sam spent some time working in the Labour Whips office and now works as a Parliamentary liaison officer for the Industry and Parliament Trust.

Dr Defty said: “It’s not the sole aim of Parliamentary Studies to funnel our students into jobs at Westminster but we do provide a lot of information about careers in Parliament through the module and it is clear that some of those on the module end up working there.”

The press release is available here:
https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2023/november-2023/universities-selected-to-offer-parliamentary-studies-module-from-202425/

Story submitted by Gary Rawnsley
GRawnsley@lincoln.ac.uk