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| Sworn at, belittled, fired at will - the truth about working for an MP | Sworn at, belittled, fired at will - the truth about working for an MP |
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| In 2013 I was fresh out of university when a friend told me about a job going as an MP’s researcher in Westminster. It was fascinating to be at the heart of British politics, cycling past the armed police and ministerial Jaguars every morning, then writing speeches, or notes for meetings with foreign leaders. | In 2013 I was fresh out of university when a friend told me about a job going as an MP’s researcher in Westminster. It was fascinating to be at the heart of British politics, cycling past the armed police and ministerial Jaguars every morning, then writing speeches, or notes for meetings with foreign leaders. |
| But after a few weeks in an ornate, if slightly dilapidated, office, I realised I’d entered an anachronistic place where outrageous behaviour was common. I was well treated, but walking through the gothic corridors and talking to colleagues over lunch, it became clear that others’ political dreams had quickly become nightmares. “Take your little fucking pencil and write this down,” I saw an MP yell at his media assistant. One staffer had to help organise a birthday party for her boss’s child; more unusually, an assistant told me she’d been tasked with caring for her boss’s chicken eggs in an incubator in the office until they hatched (at which point the MP took them home). | But after a few weeks in an ornate, if slightly dilapidated, office, I realised I’d entered an anachronistic place where outrageous behaviour was common. I was well treated, but walking through the gothic corridors and talking to colleagues over lunch, it became clear that others’ political dreams had quickly become nightmares. “Take your little fucking pencil and write this down,” I saw an MP yell at his media assistant. One staffer had to help organise a birthday party for her boss’s child; more unusually, an assistant told me she’d been tasked with caring for her boss’s chicken eggs in an incubator in the office until they hatched (at which point the MP took them home). |
| I left Westminster after a year to pursue journalism, but always wondered whether this opaque institution would ever change. In the last 12 months, it has become clear that the things I heard and saw only scraped the surface. Last October, shortly after the Harvey Weinstein allegations emerged, the political blog Guido Fawkes published a spreadsheet of anonymous accusations against about 40 Conservative MPs who were said to have harassed their teams, or were described as “handsy” or “inappropriate” or “perpetually intoxicated”. Around the same time, many complainants started to come forward publicly. This sparked a cross-party review into MPs’ staffing and complaint procedures, led by Andrea Leadsom, leader of the Commons. | I left Westminster after a year to pursue journalism, but always wondered whether this opaque institution would ever change. In the last 12 months, it has become clear that the things I heard and saw only scraped the surface. Last October, shortly after the Harvey Weinstein allegations emerged, the political blog Guido Fawkes published a spreadsheet of anonymous accusations against about 40 Conservative MPs who were said to have harassed their teams, or were described as “handsy” or “inappropriate” or “perpetually intoxicated”. Around the same time, many complainants started to come forward publicly. This sparked a cross-party review into MPs’ staffing and complaint procedures, led by Andrea Leadsom, leader of the Commons. |
| One staffer became an MP's personal lackey, designing a new website for his wife’s company, and running an online auction to sell his livestock | One staffer became an MP's personal lackey, designing a new website for his wife’s company, and running an online auction to sell his livestock |
| This month, Westminster was plunged into scandal again, when Dame Laura Cox published a 155-page report into the treatment of Commons staff, which found that high-level figures had “tolerated and covered up” abuses including MPs “patting women’s heads”, “trying to kiss them” and “stroking their breasts or bottoms”. At the time of going to press, pressure was mounting on Commons speaker John Bercow, accused of bullying staff in his private office (something he denies), to step down. | This month, Westminster was plunged into scandal again, when Dame Laura Cox published a 155-page report into the treatment of Commons staff, which found that high-level figures had “tolerated and covered up” abuses including MPs “patting women’s heads”, “trying to kiss them” and “stroking their breasts or bottoms”. At the time of going to press, pressure was mounting on Commons speaker John Bercow, accused of bullying staff in his private office (something he denies), to step down. |
| Cox’s report is the first independent review of the way Commons staff are treated and supports the case for urgent change. But there has not yet been a similar investigation into MPs’ private staffers: the assistants, researchers and advisers whom they are allowed to employ directly, with no supervision over recruitment or management, and whose mistreatment first prompted Leadsom’s review. | Cox’s report is the first independent review of the way Commons staff are treated and supports the case for urgent change. But there has not yet been a similar investigation into MPs’ private staffers: the assistants, researchers and advisers whom they are allowed to employ directly, with no supervision over recruitment or management, and whose mistreatment first prompted Leadsom’s review. |
| How deep are the problems in my eccentric former workplace? Over the past few months, I interviewed nearly two dozen staffers, currently or formerly working for Westminster MPs. Almost all described a high-stress, chaotic and at times abusive environment. | How deep are the problems in my eccentric former workplace? Over the past few months, I interviewed nearly two dozen staffers, currently or formerly working for Westminster MPs. Almost all described a high-stress, chaotic and at times abusive environment. |
| *** | *** |
| Former parliamentary assistant Margot was thrilled to get a job in politics a few years ago, when she was in her mid-20s, but soon found herself a personal lackey, often doing private work instead of the constituency casework she was hired for – something that is against parliamentary rules. She spent three days designing a website for her MP’s wife’s company, and was then sent to the couple’s home to show his wife how to use it. At other times, she was told to run an online auction to sell her MP’s livestock collection and find people to write references so he could apply to a private members’ club. “It would have been so hard to say no to whatever I was asked to do,” she tells me. “I assumed it was par for the course, although I recognised it was outside of my duties. Had I wanted to complain, I would have had no idea how.” | Former parliamentary assistant Margot was thrilled to get a job in politics a few years ago, when she was in her mid-20s, but soon found herself a personal lackey, often doing private work instead of the constituency casework she was hired for – something that is against parliamentary rules. She spent three days designing a website for her MP’s wife’s company, and was then sent to the couple’s home to show his wife how to use it. At other times, she was told to run an online auction to sell her MP’s livestock collection and find people to write references so he could apply to a private members’ club. “It would have been so hard to say no to whatever I was asked to do,” she tells me. “I assumed it was par for the course, although I recognised it was outside of my duties. Had I wanted to complain, I would have had no idea how.” |
| Her boss, who is still an MP, shouted and swore at staff and told racist and sexist jokes, she and other members of his team tell me. With four full-time assistants paid from his parliamentary staffing allowance (this is £153,620, or £164,460 for London MPs), who helped with his personal life and political work, the MP spent significant time consulting for private businesses and attending board meetings. More than once, staff opened his office door and found him playing computer games in the middle of the day. “All I could really do was roll my eyes,” Margot says. “Because these people are more powerful, you just have to put up with it.” | Her boss, who is still an MP, shouted and swore at staff and told racist and sexist jokes, she and other members of his team tell me. With four full-time assistants paid from his parliamentary staffing allowance (this is £153,620, or £164,460 for London MPs), who helped with his personal life and political work, the MP spent significant time consulting for private businesses and attending board meetings. More than once, staff opened his office door and found him playing computer games in the middle of the day. “All I could really do was roll my eyes,” Margot says. “Because these people are more powerful, you just have to put up with it.” |
| Others I spoke to sat in their MPs’ homes waiting for technicians to install broadband boxes, or were dispatched to buy socks. Some told me of MPs sending staffers to their houses to let their pets out or babysit. Some have made their allegations public, including Aisha Ali-Khan, a staffer to the former Respect MP George Galloway. Following her dismissal in 2012, she said she spent much of her job planning Galloway’s wedding, looking after his house and working for the Viva Palestina charity, although Galloway denies this. | Others I spoke to sat in their MPs’ homes waiting for technicians to install broadband boxes, or were dispatched to buy socks. Some told me of MPs sending staffers to their houses to let their pets out or babysit. Some have made their allegations public, including Aisha Ali-Khan, a staffer to the former Respect MP George Galloway. Following her dismissal in 2012, she said she spent much of her job planning Galloway’s wedding, looking after his house and working for the Viva Palestina charity, although Galloway denies this. |
| But most alleged misuse and abuse has gone unreported, as the power imbalance often makes it impossible to speak up. “We are set up like small businesses by ourselves, but without any of the oversight that probably even small businesses have to adhere to,” the Green party MP Caroline Lucas tells me. “MPs appear to think they live in a bubble where special rules apply to them – it is a particularly bizarre working environment.” Lucas was part of the committee that developed the new Westminster-wide behaviour code, voted through by MPs this summer. The committee also approved a process to independently investigate complaints from MPs’ staffers, a new independent advice service, and management training for MPs. | But most alleged misuse and abuse has gone unreported, as the power imbalance often makes it impossible to speak up. “We are set up like small businesses by ourselves, but without any of the oversight that probably even small businesses have to adhere to,” the Green party MP Caroline Lucas tells me. “MPs appear to think they live in a bubble where special rules apply to them – it is a particularly bizarre working environment.” Lucas was part of the committee that developed the new Westminster-wide behaviour code, voted through by MPs this summer. The committee also approved a process to independently investigate complaints from MPs’ staffers, a new independent advice service, and management training for MPs. |
| Parliament’s staffing arrangements have been ripe for abuse since they were created. In 1969 MPs gave themselves the first hiring allowance, a measly £500 annually (about £8,000 in today’s money) to pay for part-time secretaries, who huddled in crowded typing pools in the bowels of Westminster, routinely overworked and often without proper contracts. Two years later, the first political assistants arrived, paid for by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, a group funded from the fortunes of a confectionery business, whose trustees felt senior opposition MPs were struggling to do their jobs. The assistants were known as “chocolate soldiers”, in homage to their funders. | Parliament’s staffing arrangements have been ripe for abuse since they were created. In 1969 MPs gave themselves the first hiring allowance, a measly £500 annually (about £8,000 in today’s money) to pay for part-time secretaries, who huddled in crowded typing pools in the bowels of Westminster, routinely overworked and often without proper contracts. Two years later, the first political assistants arrived, paid for by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, a group funded from the fortunes of a confectionery business, whose trustees felt senior opposition MPs were struggling to do their jobs. The assistants were known as “chocolate soldiers”, in homage to their funders. |
| One of the first chocolate soldiers, Archy Kirkwood, recalls walking into the Westminster library on his first day in August 1971, aged 25, and MPs turning to him in confusion. “People were very curious about what somebody helping a member of parliament would do,” says Kirkwood, who went on to be a Liberal Democrat MP for 22 years, and now sits in the House of Lords. “We were objects of interest and I had the run of the whole place – access all areas.” | One of the first chocolate soldiers, Archy Kirkwood, recalls walking into the Westminster library on his first day in August 1971, aged 25, and MPs turning to him in confusion. “People were very curious about what somebody helping a member of parliament would do,” says Kirkwood, who went on to be a Liberal Democrat MP for 22 years, and now sits in the House of Lords. “We were objects of interest and I had the run of the whole place – access all areas.” |
| British politics was an amateurish world in those days. Many MPs did not have individual offices and some did not even have a desk. They huddled into the Westminster library or sat on benches in corridors, writing missives in longhand and posting their own correspondence. As staff have grown– by more than 70% since 2000, including in constituencies – they have changed this picture. “I think they have made the member of parliament much more effective and efficient in the chamber and committees,” the former Labour MP David Blunkett tells me. “And the service provided [by MPs to citizens] is much better than it was 30 years ago.” | British politics was an amateurish world in those days. Many MPs did not have individual offices and some did not even have a desk. They huddled into the Westminster library or sat on benches in corridors, writing missives in longhand and posting their own correspondence. As staff have grown– by more than 70% since 2000, including in constituencies – they have changed this picture. “I think they have made the member of parliament much more effective and efficient in the chamber and committees,” the former Labour MP David Blunkett tells me. “And the service provided [by MPs to citizens] is much better than it was 30 years ago.” |
| Yet staffers’ jobs have not modernised in turn. MPs are not required to advertise jobs or trained to interview people. This can make the hiring process unprofessional or even discriminatory, as many people told me. “I am not sure about her,” one former staffer recalls her boss saying of a job applicant, after an interview, while mocking her African surname. | Yet staffers’ jobs have not modernised in turn. MPs are not required to advertise jobs or trained to interview people. This can make the hiring process unprofessional or even discriminatory, as many people told me. “I am not sure about her,” one former staffer recalls her boss saying of a job applicant, after an interview, while mocking her African surname. |
| Daniel, who has worked for four MPs in the last seven years, was shocked when he joined his first boss as she interviewed a candidate for a year-long unpaid internship. The MP turned to him mid-interview and said, “He seems all right – we should hire him.” When the applicant asked if she would consider paying travel expenses, the MP revoked the job offer and refused to consider any more candidates from the same university. | Daniel, who has worked for four MPs in the last seven years, was shocked when he joined his first boss as she interviewed a candidate for a year-long unpaid internship. The MP turned to him mid-interview and said, “He seems all right – we should hire him.” When the applicant asked if she would consider paying travel expenses, the MP revoked the job offer and refused to consider any more candidates from the same university. |
| Daniel, who still works in Westminster, says the lack of supervision also enables MPs to dismiss people arbitrarily. He was fired from his first researcher job in 2012 without warning or specific reason, he says. “Please don’t come back again,” he recalls his MP saying one morning. She told him not to bother serving his notice period, saying he didn’t understand politics: “You don’t get it, and you are never going to get it.” A colleague working for the same MP came to Daniel a year ago, after he, too, was intimidated and mistreated. He advised him to move on. “Seven years ago she was like that, and she is still like that now.” | Daniel, who still works in Westminster, says the lack of supervision also enables MPs to dismiss people arbitrarily. He was fired from his first researcher job in 2012 without warning or specific reason, he says. “Please don’t come back again,” he recalls his MP saying one morning. She told him not to bother serving his notice period, saying he didn’t understand politics: “You don’t get it, and you are never going to get it.” A colleague working for the same MP came to Daniel a year ago, after he, too, was intimidated and mistreated. He advised him to move on. “Seven years ago she was like that, and she is still like that now.” |
| Twelve months after being fired, Daniel was hired by a different MP as an adviser, but his difficulties continued. He was given so much work that for up to three nights a week he wouldn’t even go home, instead catching a few hours’ sleep in an armchair in his boss’s Westminster office. “It felt like this was how you proved yourself. You show you can be good at the job, to get on in politics.” He stayed in that job until two years ago, when he moved to work for a different MP, then a senior member of his party. He is now happy at work, but says that Westminster remains a toxic place for many colleagues. | Twelve months after being fired, Daniel was hired by a different MP as an adviser, but his difficulties continued. He was given so much work that for up to three nights a week he wouldn’t even go home, instead catching a few hours’ sleep in an armchair in his boss’s Westminster office. “It felt like this was how you proved yourself. You show you can be good at the job, to get on in politics.” He stayed in that job until two years ago, when he moved to work for a different MP, then a senior member of his party. He is now happy at work, but says that Westminster remains a toxic place for many colleagues. |
| Getting hired comes down to who you know. One staffer gave his old job to his girlfriend. One MP only hires from Oxbridge | Getting hired comes down to who you know. One staffer gave his old job to his girlfriend. One MP only hires from Oxbridge |
| Timothy, who has worked for two MPs and now does ad hoc work for another, paints a similar picture. After incessant bullying from his former boss, a senior female MP, he decided to leave his job a few years ago. He would routinely wake up to streams of abusive texts and emails sent by his MP in the middle of the night, was belittled throughout the day (“I must get a better person to help me”) and shouted at as tourists walked past. In some ways he considers himself one of the lucky ones, because he did not encounter physical violence. “It was impacting on my relationship with my partner, on my mental and physical health.” He complained to an official in his party, who offered to speak to the MP, but Timothy thought “it would only have made matters worse.” | Timothy, who has worked for two MPs and now does ad hoc work for another, paints a similar picture. After incessant bullying from his former boss, a senior female MP, he decided to leave his job a few years ago. He would routinely wake up to streams of abusive texts and emails sent by his MP in the middle of the night, was belittled throughout the day (“I must get a better person to help me”) and shouted at as tourists walked past. In some ways he considers himself one of the lucky ones, because he did not encounter physical violence. “It was impacting on my relationship with my partner, on my mental and physical health.” He complained to an official in his party, who offered to speak to the MP, but Timothy thought “it would only have made matters worse.” |
| Figures from parliament’s staff union, Unite, this February show just how widespread such behaviour remains: 27% of surveyed MPs’ staff said they had been bullied or experienced “intimidating behaviour” from their bosses, and 14% said they had been sexually harassed. | Figures from parliament’s staff union, Unite, this February show just how widespread such behaviour remains: 27% of surveyed MPs’ staff said they had been bullied or experienced “intimidating behaviour” from their bosses, and 14% said they had been sexually harassed. |
| Georgina Kester, chairwoman of Westminster’s staff association, Mapsa, and a senior assistant to a Tory MP, tells me she has known about staff mistreatment for years, but frequently felt powerless when colleagues approached her. “Often it was [just] offering boxes of tissues and shoulders to cry on because there was no process” for dealing with abuse, she says – although she believes this has changed since the new grievance procedure was introduced by Leadsom. This gives parliament’s standards commissioner the authority to confidentially investigate complaints. Before then, MPs’ staff who called Westminster’s advice hotline were frequently told to redirect complaints to their line manager, who was often the alleged perpetrator. | Georgina Kester, chairwoman of Westminster’s staff association, Mapsa, and a senior assistant to a Tory MP, tells me she has known about staff mistreatment for years, but frequently felt powerless when colleagues approached her. “Often it was [just] offering boxes of tissues and shoulders to cry on because there was no process” for dealing with abuse, she says – although she believes this has changed since the new grievance procedure was introduced by Leadsom. This gives parliament’s standards commissioner the authority to confidentially investigate complaints. Before then, MPs’ staff who called Westminster’s advice hotline were frequently told to redirect complaints to their line manager, who was often the alleged perpetrator. |
| And sometimes it is MPs’ staffers who abuse Westminster’s disorder. Some politicians have little idea what their employees are doing all day. I met one former staffer who spent several weeks launching a startup. Some were bored with the job after four years there, but told me there was no sense in leaving – they could work on their business while still receiving a salary and a free office. Abandoned workers are particularly visible during “recess”, the roughly 20 weeks during which parliament is not in session and MPs are away. One former staffer described their summer recess routine as going “from breakfast to elevenses to lunch”. | And sometimes it is MPs’ staffers who abuse Westminster’s disorder. Some politicians have little idea what their employees are doing all day. I met one former staffer who spent several weeks launching a startup. Some were bored with the job after four years there, but told me there was no sense in leaving – they could work on their business while still receiving a salary and a free office. Abandoned workers are particularly visible during “recess”, the roughly 20 weeks during which parliament is not in session and MPs are away. One former staffer described their summer recess routine as going “from breakfast to elevenses to lunch”. |
| *** | *** |
| Westminster’s odd working conditions also have serious implications for the diversity of British politics. Countless senior politicians begin their careers as staffers, including justice secretary David Gauke and former prime minister David Cameron. But getting hired usually “comes down to if you know someone locally, or a friend of a friend”, says Robert Dale, staffer to a Labour MP until 2015. He tells me of a colleague whose own girlfriend took over his job after he left parliament. One MP I met would only consider researchers from Oxford and Cambridge. Like many, I found out about my own Westminster job by chance, via a friend who knew the MP’s senior assistant. | Westminster’s odd working conditions also have serious implications for the diversity of British politics. Countless senior politicians begin their careers as staffers, including justice secretary David Gauke and former prime minister David Cameron. But getting hired usually “comes down to if you know someone locally, or a friend of a friend”, says Robert Dale, staffer to a Labour MP until 2015. He tells me of a colleague whose own girlfriend took over his job after he left parliament. One MP I met would only consider researchers from Oxford and Cambridge. Like many, I found out about my own Westminster job by chance, via a friend who knew the MP’s senior assistant. |
| It also helps to be related or married to your boss: more than 100 MPs currently employ their relatives with public money, according to parliament’s register of members’ financial interests. Among them is Labour’s Margaret Beckett, whose husband Leo, in his 90s, has worked for her for decades. In a rare instance of intrusion into staffing, last March parliament’s standards authority banned MPs from hiring family members, saying it hindered diversity and transparency, although relatives who were already employed can remain. Archy Kirkwood tells me he “made no secret” of employing his wife, that she worked hard and “would never let me down”, but acknowledges some MPs have been less conscientious. “The only person in the world I would trust to handle constituency business in London in my absence would be my wife,” he says. “But [the system] was abused. It was.” Emma, another former researcher for an MP, says her boss employed his wife on the highest pay band (currently almost £50,000 a year), but it was unclear how much work she did. | It also helps to be related or married to your boss: more than 100 MPs currently employ their relatives with public money, according to parliament’s register of members’ financial interests. Among them is Labour’s Margaret Beckett, whose husband Leo, in his 90s, has worked for her for decades. In a rare instance of intrusion into staffing, last March parliament’s standards authority banned MPs from hiring family members, saying it hindered diversity and transparency, although relatives who were already employed can remain. Archy Kirkwood tells me he “made no secret” of employing his wife, that she worked hard and “would never let me down”, but acknowledges some MPs have been less conscientious. “The only person in the world I would trust to handle constituency business in London in my absence would be my wife,” he says. “But [the system] was abused. It was.” Emma, another former researcher for an MP, says her boss employed his wife on the highest pay band (currently almost £50,000 a year), but it was unclear how much work she did. |
| Several staffers are keen for Westminster to take control of employment. Others want parliament to hire a central pool from which MPs could select people, or at least make HR professionals sit in on interviews. At present the parliamentary standards authority, Ipsa, deals with the administration of jobs and paying salaries, but does not supervise or enforce on a day-to-day basis. But other staff, as well as most MPs, vehemently oppose politicians giving up their hiring power. Margaret Beckett is among them. Being a politician “is not just your livelihood – it is your life,” she says. “You have got to be comfortable with the people you are working with and not have them picked for you.” She continues: “There are a lot of people around here, including Ipsa, who are looking to expand their empire, who would love to do all the hiring and say to MPs, ‘Here is a bunch of people, they say they support [your] party’, you can have one of them.’ Get stuffed.” (This month Beckett told the BBC that, when it comes to the question of Bercow’s future, “[Brexit] trumps bad behaviour.”) | Several staffers are keen for Westminster to take control of employment. Others want parliament to hire a central pool from which MPs could select people, or at least make HR professionals sit in on interviews. At present the parliamentary standards authority, Ipsa, deals with the administration of jobs and paying salaries, but does not supervise or enforce on a day-to-day basis. But other staff, as well as most MPs, vehemently oppose politicians giving up their hiring power. Margaret Beckett is among them. Being a politician “is not just your livelihood – it is your life,” she says. “You have got to be comfortable with the people you are working with and not have them picked for you.” She continues: “There are a lot of people around here, including Ipsa, who are looking to expand their empire, who would love to do all the hiring and say to MPs, ‘Here is a bunch of people, they say they support [your] party’, you can have one of them.’ Get stuffed.” (This month Beckett told the BBC that, when it comes to the question of Bercow’s future, “[Brexit] trumps bad behaviour.”) |
| Next January, Leadsom and her cross-party group of MPs, lords and staff representatives will meet to discuss their reforms and further plans. “This is the beginning, not the end of our efforts to change the culture of parliament,” Leadsom said in July. The Commons has also met, following Cox’s revelations, to discuss how to help its own employees. But it remains to be seen whether this momentum will be enough to reshape such a conservative workplace. | Next January, Leadsom and her cross-party group of MPs, lords and staff representatives will meet to discuss their reforms and further plans. “This is the beginning, not the end of our efforts to change the culture of parliament,” Leadsom said in July. The Commons has also met, following Cox’s revelations, to discuss how to help its own employees. But it remains to be seen whether this momentum will be enough to reshape such a conservative workplace. |
| “We are light years ahead of where we were,” says Lucas, part of Leadsom’s panel. “But you have got MPs marking their own homework.” A committee including MPs has the final vote on whether to give colleagues serious punishments. “That is not acceptable and it is not going to get people to have confidence in the system.” Many staffers feel even more strongly. “This crisis should have prompted systemic change, and it hasn’t,” Daniel says. “Fundamentally, the same problem applies: you are complaining about someone who holds your future career in their hands.” | “We are light years ahead of where we were,” says Lucas, part of Leadsom’s panel. “But you have got MPs marking their own homework.” A committee including MPs has the final vote on whether to give colleagues serious punishments. “That is not acceptable and it is not going to get people to have confidence in the system.” Many staffers feel even more strongly. “This crisis should have prompted systemic change, and it hasn’t,” Daniel says. “Fundamentally, the same problem applies: you are complaining about someone who holds your future career in their hands.” |
| • Names of staffers have been changed. | • Names of staffers have been changed. |
| If you would like a comment on this piece to be considered for inclusion on Weekend magazine’s letters page in print, please email weekend@theguardian.com, including your name and address (not for publication). | If you would like a comment on this piece to be considered for inclusion on Weekend magazine’s letters page in print, please email weekend@theguardian.com, including your name and address (not for publication). |
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