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THREE weeks into his new role as MP Clive Jones, speaking in the Houses of Parliament, said: “It is actually 50 years since I first came here, on a school trip.”
The Wokingham MP visited in 1976 as a school child on a trip organised by his sociology teacher at Bulmershe School, in Woodley. Although he can hardly remember what was going on in parliament that day, he says he knew he wanted to be an MP one day.
Now, aged 66, Clive has become Wokingham’s new MP – the first ever Liberal Democrat to hold the position. It comes after a successful career in business and becoming the leader of Wokingham Borough Council.
Local Democracy Reporter Ruth Lucas met with Clive Jones at Parliament the day before it breaks for summer recess – a month-long respite that must come appreciated.
From the delirious early hours of the morning of July 5 when he found out he had won to his last day in Parliament before the summer recess, the Liberal Democrat victor has had a whirlwind three weeks. Those three weeks have involved an induction to parliament, getting an office, looking to hire staff, attending key events like the King’s Speech and Prime Minister’s Questions. Clive has spoken to Health Secretary Wes Streeting about the new hospital plans for Berkshire, a topic which also formed his first parliamentary question to Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
The MP recalls his first encounter with Streeting, he said: “I had only been there a few days, and I bumped into him and said that I would be sending him a letter [about the new hospital], and he said ‘yeah, you and loads of other people’.”
Although Parliament will not sit for a month, there’s little break for Clive – he’s got to hire his staff, both for in parliament and working in the constituency. The Wokingham MP has an office space sorted (albeit it’s 10 minutes from parliament, which will result in a mad dash when called for debates). Plus, he has got to sort out somewhere to live when in Westminster. While his wife is just entering her retirement, Clive is only just getting started in his new job.
“It’s like getting set up as a small business,” he explains, “Everybody that you take on are your staff, they’re working for you. They’re working for Clive Jones MP.
“Having to set everything up – that is very, very time consuming. You would think there is a better way of doing it.”
Clive says he would like to hire more constituency workers than in Parliament ‘to provide a service to people in Wokingham who have elected me to represent them’.
His response to a question about his favourite thing about parliament is, quite simply, the access card around his neck.
“This card, it lets me go anywhere! I used to come to an All-Party Parliamentary Group for corporate governance 21 years ago and you could come in here, come up to the committee rooms but just go there – not anywhere else.”
Clive’s card takes us into the green-benched House of Commons chamber, the houses of parliament cafes (including one with a wonderful view of the Thames and London Eye), and along many stained-glass windowed hallways.
When asked how his life has changed since being elected, Clive said: “Well, I spend quite a lot of time away from home, so that’s a change.”
Before entering politics, Clive had a long career in the toy manufacturing industry for 30 years, 20 years of which he spent as director of the British Toy and Hobby Association.
He explained: “15 years ago, I was quite used to spending a lot of time away from home, travelling all over the world, visiting different factories part of the company. And it’s now, I suppose, going back to that.”
Clive is one of many new MPs in parliament altogether. Of the 650 elected on July 4, 335 have never been an MP before. There are also record numbers of women and ethnic minority MPs and the youngest ever MP to be elected. All of this taken together means that dynamics will change a ‘huge amount’.
“I’ve still got an awful lot to learn,” he says. But many of Parliament’s archaic procedures, like the figure called ‘the black rod’ and voting by physically walking through rooms, were less of a surprise to Clive.
He said: “I suppose because I’ve been interested in parliament for a long, long time, most of it I was aware of, but not always knowing the reasons behind it.”
Another thing to get to grips with is the security. Since the high-profile tragic murders of Jo Cox in 2016 and David Amess in 2021, parliament officials have been called to do more to address safety concerns of MPs. Clive showed a device given to MPs for the first time, which is attached to his keys. If he presses it, security can hear him and track where he is. He said: “It’s sad that it’s necessary. But you’ve got to get in the habit of charging it up. I noticed when I showed you before, it was dead.”
He’s hoping to have at least one week’s break before parliament and party conferences resume back in September. He looks forward to doing his maiden speech then, as well as hoping to get involved in health and business policy areas.
On his time so far, he concluded: “It’s been an incredible three weeks, incredibly rewarding, and really lovely to go back to Wokingham.”
