Aim of the game
You’re a backbench MP. Your task is to:
- represent your constituents (not just those people who voted you in, but all those who voted for someone else or didn’t vote at all)
- check the work of the government
- decide on new laws
Like most MPs, you also belong to a political party. Your party will expect you to hold (most of) the same views as they do – and a special MP called the party whip will encourage you to agree with the ‘party line’.
But the decisions can be difficult. You’ll need to consider carefully those situations where your party, your constituents or you don't see eye-to-eye.
Your aim in the game is to get to the end of the week without your party or voter support dropping too low.
You’ll also need to keep an eye on your media profile because the TV, radio and internet are some of the best ways to get your message across.
Set-up screens
Just like a real MP, there are a few things you’ll need to decide before you get to Parliament. Luckily for you, unlike a real MP, the first set-up screen in the game lets you decide the level of difficulty for the week ahead.
- Tip: First time MP? Choose ‘easy’ to get the hang of the game.
On the second set-up screen, players can add their name and gender and most importantly, take a side: governing party or opposition party.
- Tip: To maximise the amount of game play, once you've finished a level with one party, try the other side next time.
Next, players get to choose a location for their constituency – this is the area of the UK that you represent.
- Tip: Think about how the location of your constituency might affect the game.
MPs all have personal interests. The next set-up screen lets you choose yours.
Finally, there's a reminder of the aim of the game. When you're ready, click 'Start' to begin the week.
The main game screen
The game starts on Monday morning in Parliament and it’s now up to you to make the most of the week.
The current day and time are displayed at the bottom left of the screen. The blue figure travels along the bars at the bottom to show your progress through the day. The bars fill up to show your current score after you complete activities.
The phone at the bottom right of the screen is your gateway to all activities in the game. Click on it to open the phone menu. From here you can check your messages and see what’s going on. You'll also receive calls on the phone from time to time. The number next to each menu item shows how many activities are currently available. You can choose any activities that are available with a single click.
- Tip: Even the most hard-working MPs have more to do than can fit in the week, so choose your activities carefully.
Choose your activities
You're in control... most of the time. Choose which activities you want to attempt from the phone menu.
Messages
Click 'Pick up messages' from the phone menu to check your inbox.
Constituents, other MPs, ministers, businesses, charities, journalists... They’re all eager to talk to you, and all their messages will appear in your inbox. Choose a message to answer and click ‘reply’. This takes you from the inbox to the reply screen.
On the reply screen you can read the full message and decide the best response from the options available. Cycle through the options using the arrows on the screen.
Sometimes there’s only one response, but usually there’s two, three or maybe more. Think about what impact your response will have on your scores: party reputation, voter support and media profile. You may have to make a tough choice. Choose one of the replies, then hit ‘Send’.
- Tip: You can get back to the inbox screen from the reply screen by clicking the button marked 'Messages'.
Meetings and events
Click 'Meetings and events' from the phone menu to see all of your meeting requests.
MPs are always on the move and attend a huge variety of meetings and events. These can be in Parliament or the constituency. All the requests you receive appear in the meetings list. The length and location of each meeting is also shown.
Click a meeting to read more information that will help you decide whether to attend or not. There are two buttons at the bottom: 'Accept' or 'Decline'. Consider how your choice will affect your scores, and also how much time it takes up.
- Tip: Travelling between Parliament and your constituency takes up precious time, so think about how you can reduce the number of trips.
Speeches and debates
Click 'Attend a debate' from the phone menu to see the three topics scheduled for debate this week.
The House of Commons chamber is the main place for MPs to discuss important issues, get their views heard and attempt to persuade others. First, you must choose a debate to attend. There are three topics available over the course of the week. Click one of the three images to make your choice.
- Tip: Carefully read the description for the debate you are going to choose. This will help you write your speech.
Next, you are taken to the speech editor where you put together your speech from a selection of clips. In this activity, a finished speech has five main points: an opening, three supporting points in the middle and a closing.
You can read and listen to each of the available clips and then decide which are the most appropriate. Choose five of the speech clips from those available at the top of the screen by dragging each clip into position at the bottom. Remind yourself of the topic for the debate by clicking on the button marked ‘i’.
- Tip: Start with the clips marked ‘Opening’ and ‘Closing’ and choose a good start and end to your speech. Then you’ll have less to choose from when you pick your three middle points.
- Tip: Good speeches are clear, entertaining and punchy. Avoid overly long sentences, jargon and confusing clips. Make sure all your points support the argument you are trying to make. Don’t forget you can check what argument you’ve been asked to make by clicking the button marked ‘i’.
Once you have five clips in place at the bottom, click the play button to hear your speech in full. Not happy with your speech? Remove clips by dragging them to the bin on the right, and re-arrange the others and add new ones simply by dragging. Happy with your speech? Click ‘Go to chamber’.
The final part of the activity is set in the House of Commons chamber. The debate is about to begin and you need to ‘catch the Speaker’s eye’ so that he can call you to make your speech.
This is a fun mini-game that gives you the chance to boost your speech score. If you like, you can skip it by clicking ‘Leave the chamber’. Otherwise, click ‘Start game’ and you’ll have just less than a minute to move your mouse from side-to-side as quickly as possible over the blue highlights as they move around the screen. Your progress is shown at the top right and the time remaining at the top left.
- Tip: The faster you move your mouse pointer inside the blue highlights, the better your performance.
Committee inquiry
Click 'Committee inquiry' from the phone menu to see the three inquiries scheduled this week.
Many backbench MPs are members of select committees that check up on the work of the government. One way they do this is by conducting an inquiry. There are three inquiries in the game to choose from during the week. Choose one of the three topics available by clicking 'Start inquiry'.
Your next job is to choose witnesses that will give you their opinions (evidence) on that topic. Your phone on the left side of the screen shows a selection of possible witnesses.
You can see the name, job title, picture and description for each person. Cycle through them using the arrows on either side of the picture. Choose six of these to be witnesses by dragging them on to the clipboard on the right, or by clicking the ‘Choose’ button.
- Tip: You’re looking for witnesses that will tell you as much as possible about the topic you have chosen. You need to collect a wide range of views and good quality evidence in order to write a good report on the topic.
Not happy with your witness selection? You can drag a witness away from the clipboard, or select the witness and then click ‘Remove’.
Once you’re happy, click ‘Gather evidence’. This is the moment of truth. The bars will reveal whether you really did get a wide range of views and good quality evidence. Finish off by clicking ‘Publish report’ to find out what impact your report made.
- Tip: For more information about select committee inquiries, click the button marked ‘?’ in this activity to hear from MPs themselves.
Daily survival report
Click 'Daily survival report' from the phone menu to see a cartoon that shows how you're doing.
Every lunchtime your local newspaper prints a new cartoon that takes a light-hearted look at how you’re doing. This daily survival report is a good way to check on your overall score.
Parliament video hints
Click 'Parliament video hints' from the phone menu to hear tips and guidance from real MPs.
You can click the buttons marked ‘?’ during any part of the game to listen to real MPs explaining a particular activity. This option allows you to view all of the videos from around the game in one place.
Travel
Click 'Travel to Parliament/constituency' from the phone menu to change location.
An MP's time is split between the constituency (the area of the UK that the MP represents) and Parliament (in Westminster, London). Remember, though, that travel isn’t instantaneous.
Sometimes you will travel automatically. This happens when you choose an activity that requires you to be in a different location.
For example, votes, debates, committee inquiries and questions always take place in Parliament and you’ll be moved there automatically if you choose one of these activities while in the constituency.
- Tip: You can check your current location by looking at the images on the main screen. These either show a behind-the-scenes tour of some of the buildings in Parliament or a journey along your constituency street.
Extra activities
You don't always get to choose when things happen. Some activities are only available at certain times. Watch out for a phone call to alert you to these.
Questions
An important part of being an MP is the ability to ask questions to government ministers in the House of Commons chamber.
You may have heard of Prime Minister's Questions (which takes place on a Wednesday) as it often makes the news headlines. But there are question sessions nearly every day in the House of Commons.
Government ministers take it in turns to answer these questions from other MPs. Watch out in the game for your chance to ask ministers, and even the Prime Minister, a question. It's a good chance to raise a local issue or check up on the work of the government.
Once in the question activity, simply look through the options and choose one of the questions to ask. There are notes to help you on the left. Once you have chosen a question, you are transported to the House of Commons chamber to ask your question to the minister, and get feedback on your performance.
- Tip: If you’re a backbench MP on the government side, you might want to be careful that you don't upset the minister with your question, as your party might not be very pleased! If you're a backbench MP on the opposition side, the more tricky your question for the minister, the happier you'll make your party. But MPs on both sides need to tread carefully: there are strict rules on the types of question that can be asked: no personal opinions and stick to the facts. Also, don't waste your chance to ask a question with something obvious!
Voting in the House of Commons
A vote is held when a decision needs to be made in the House of Commons chamber. These votes are not scheduled in advance, so be prepared to drop what you’re doing and run to the chamber – you can’t vote without being there in person.
Your party whip will let you know about upcoming votes. The whip will also say how important it is that you should attend and whether you're expected to vote a particular way. Whether you choose to follow his or her advice is up to you...
In the game, votes are always held on ideas for a new law. An idea for a new law is called a bill and MPs are asked to vote on whether the bill should become an Act of Parliament and therefore a law.
If you have decided to attend a vote, the choice is simple: ‘aye’ (meaning yes, I agree) or ‘no’. There are two rooms (called lobbies) outside the Commons chamber and you must choose which door to go through by clicking on it. If more MPs vote 'aye' than 'no', the bill is passed. But if more MPs vote 'no' than 'aye', the bill fails. In the game, there are some notes on the voting screen to help you make a decision.
- Tip: Most bills that are voted on are proposed by the government. So make sure you listen to the whip and read the notes to check how your party expects you to vote and to see what your constituents think.
Press conference
Be prepared at any point during the week to be asked to attend a press conference. The aim in this mini-game is to click on the journalists' speech bubbles that match the image at the bottom of the screen.
This image shows the message you want to get across. Keep clicking the matching speech bubble until the journalist sits down, or the bottom image changes. Your progress is shown in the top right and the time remaining in the top left.
Getting feedback
After you complete an activity you’ll see a feedback screen that displays:
- your current scores: party reputation, voter support and media profile
- arrows next to your scores showing how they were affected by the last activity
- feedback on your last activity.
Click 'Replay' to animate the arrows again. Click 'Continue' to return to the main screen.
You can click on any of the completed bars at the bottom of the main screen to review your score at different points during the day and how it changed. The colour shows how well you're doing overall: green and blue is good, red is bad.
If you do especially well, or badly, you'll hear about it from the party whip...
Good luck!