My Time in Parliament

Geraint Rennie, is taking part in a placement with David Hanson MP, as part of the Speakers Parliament Placement Scheme. In the second of our blogs on Parliament week, Geraint tells us what inspired him to get into politics.

My Start In Politics

My interest in politics stems from a young age, and in fact my earliest memory was during the election in 1992. Although, the result was a real disappointment to my community – it was my first taste into how politics can affect people’s lives.
My second reason for wanting to get into politics is that I’ve always been interested in the causes of poverty, both domestically and globally. Living in poverty not only affect’s peoples’ physical and mental health, but also their education, wellbeing, self-worth, and prospects in life. This all can contribute to preventing people from achieving their full potential.
In my spare time, I used to volunteer for my local Oxfam shop in Aberystwyth and raise money for charities trying to help tackle poverty in less developed countries. It is something I am very passionate about.

I studied International Politics and after graduating I worked as a customer team member for The Co-operative. You could say, it wasn’t something that I found fulfilling, I was still itching to work in politics. So when I heard there was a placement opportunity to work alongside actual MPs – I had to go for it. It was my chance to achieve my dream.
I have been on the placement for just over a month now but I’m hopeful it will lead to a job within parliament or even working for an MP. Maybe one day, I may even get to be an MP.

My Biggest Challenge

Sometimes I find it difficult communicating with people. When I was at school I had a speech problem and was badly bullied. This affected my confidence and my ability to talk to people, however David and his assistants are very understanding.
Sometimes I have self-confidence issues in my abilities and standard of work, especially in terms of getting a job at the end of my placement. However I am working to build my confidence and the feedback I’ve been getting on my work so far has been really helpful
I’m really enjoying my placement at the moment and learning so much. I just hope my self-confidence will not hold me back.
Read Vincent Torr’s blog on the Speakers Parliamentary Placement Scheme.