As an MP, you participate in Westminster life. This page covers what you can do in Parliament and how the game represents it.
When you win a parliamentary seat, you become a backbench MP. You can:
Your position constrains your options. Backbenchers have freedom to rebel and speak independently. Ministers must support government policy. The higher you climb, the more constrained you become.
Parliament votes on legislation, motions, and other matters. As an MP, you receive notifications about upcoming votes and must decide how to vote.
The whip system tells you how your party expects you to vote:
Your voting record is tracked. Consistent rebels build a reputation for independence but damage their prospects for advancement. Consistent loyalists earn whip favour but may compromise their public image.
PMQs occurs weekly during sitting weeks. As a backbencher, you can enter a lottery to ask the Prime Minister a question.
How it works:
Selection probability depends on several factors:
Planted questions: The whips may ask you to ask a pre-arranged "softball" question. Accepting guarantees selection and earns whip favour, but costs you integrity. Declining maintains your independence but may cool your relationship with the whips.
Ministers cannot ask questions at PMQs. If you're appointed to a ministerial role, you observe rather than participate.
Select committees scrutinise government departments and policy areas. Backbench MPs can sit on committees, building expertise and profile in specific areas.
Committee work:
Committee assignments are influenced by your interests, your relationship with the whips, and availability.
Parliamentary careers are not linear. Possible paths include:
Ministerial ladder: PPS → Junior Minister → Minister of State → Cabinet Minister → (potentially) Prime Minister
Backbench prominence: Select Committee Chair, senior backbencher, party grandee
Party roles: Whip, shadow minister, party official
Advancement depends on:
The game does not guarantee progression. Ministers get sacked. Rising stars plateau. Some MPs spend entire careers on the backbenches. Your path emerges from your choices and circumstances.
Your experience differs depending on whether your party is in government or opposition.
Government MPs can:
Opposition MPs can:
A general election that changes government transforms your position overnight.
The whips manage party discipline. Your relationship with them affects your career.
Earning favour:
Losing favour:
Whip favour influences:
Severe or repeated rebellion can lead to having the whip withdrawn, effectively expelling you from the parliamentary party.
Parliament follows a calendar of sitting weeks and recesses. During sitting weeks:
During recess, you have more time for constituency work and fewer Westminster demands.
For questions about specific parliamentary mechanics, see FAQs.