Interviewing MPs

Abstract

Politicians are like normal people, only more so. They pose especial problems for the would-be interviewer. Drawing from experience of around 1000 interviews, across multiple projects, this paper sets out some ways to get interviews with MPs, and other elite politicians, and then how to get the most out of them. Much of it is stuff I wish someone had told me at the beginning – although whether I would have listened is another question entirely. The paper also contains a moan about university ethics procedures and various cultural references, all of which go to show how old I am. I cannot imagine where this might get published, so it's here, in the hope that it is of use to new, and maybe even to some more established, researchers.

Keywords: parliament, interviews, MPs, Britain