Joanna found her passion for politics

I was working as an Editorial Assistant at an educational publishing company, and I’d seen an advertisement that asked, “Do you want to work in Parliament?” I decided the answer was yes. 

I wasn’t even interested in politics, as a disastrous political knowledge test proved! But I did like writing, and the idea of reporting MPs speeches sounded exciting. I joined the House of Commons as a Hansard Committee Reporter, and as soon as I arrived, I was hooked. Now, I’m as much of a political geek as my colleagues. 

I stayed in the job with the Hansard Committee for several years, and then I became a Westminster Hall Reporter, before becoming a House Reporter. Next, I moved into an Inquiry Manager role in the Committee Office, kicking off my report-writing career with a page-turning report about slurry.

Then, I became Second Clerk on the Home Affairs Committee, and Clerk of the now non-existent Political and Constitutional Reform Committee. I’ve had a variety of other jobs, including working on the plain English MPs’ Guide to Procedure, and being Private Secretary to the Chairman of Ways and Means (the principal Deputy Speaker). 

Now, I’m Clerk of Divisions in the Public Bill Office, which means I look after voting in the House of Commons. At the moment, I’m working on the Select Committee team, supporting MPs to scrutinise the government.  

Suffice to say, the past two years have been an interesting time to do this job. We had a year of very close Brexit votes, and then the pandemic hit – and I found myself working with colleagues from across the House to devise new ways of voting. 

Together, we achieved in days and weeks what would have taken months or even years, in normal times. There have been moments when it has been very busy indeed, but it’s certainly never been dull. 

After 20 years, I still have days when I walk into the building and can’t believe I’m lucky enough to work here.

Joanna found her passion for politics. Together, we make Parliament happen.