Congratulations — you have just become an MP. Here’s what happens next

It’s election night (or probably the early hours of December 13) and the moment you have been fighting for, for weeks, months and probably years, is finally here. Congratulations, you are now a Member of Parliament.

You’ve probably not stopped for the past several weeks and what you would most welcome right now is a few days in a darkened room, or a holiday; some time to rest and get your head around what might come next. Unfortunately, quite the opposite is about to happen. A newly-elected Member of Parliament has no grace period. It’s only now that the real work starts.

As the campaign team, friends and family rush around congratulating the newly-elected MP, the returning officer hands over an envelope containing instructions on the next steps. Depending on the party arrangements, they might also receive a WhatsApp message from the Whips Office stating when you need to report to the House of Commons; they’ll usually give you the weekend to make arrangements and expect to see you there on Monday morning.

Anyone elected pre-2010 will tell you about how “in their day” there was no such thing as an induction. You were left to make your own way, and if you were lucky a friendly colleague would let you follow them when the division bells rang. Thankfully, we have moved on slightly from that, but MPs must be ready to absorb huge quantities of new information (while also learning the names of all their new colleagues, their way around the Parliamentary estate, oh, and don’t forget the constituency emails and post flooding in!).

The induction for new MPs is split into several different areas — the Clerks of the House will provide briefings on etiquette, how the Chamber works and the ins and outs of Parliamentary procedure. It’s by no means a comprehensive guide, but enough to stop anyone embarrassing themselves on the first day.

The House and Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority will provide a New Members’ Reception Area, set up to deal with everything from salary, security, IT equipment to car parking spaces. They also allocate you a peg in the cloakroom. Then the Party will provide its own induction; which will be an MPs first taste of a three-line whip.

Those who are new to Westminster must quickly find their way around Parliament’s unfathomable maze of buildings and get to grips with unfamiliar and arcane proceedings. Alongside this, MPs also suddenly become the leader of a small enterprise, with responsibility for HR, setting up offices in Westminster and the constituency, and trying to sort out IT and office equipment.

The pressure of those first few days can be quite intense. Suddenly, you are a very small fish in a fast-flowing river and it can be difficult to navigate. There is no official training course, no manual and a raft of unwritten rules and traditions that take a decade to learn. Some refer to the Whips Office as a human resources department, but as they are also responsible for your future career progression, it’s understandable many are reluctant to admit they need help.

For those watching from outside, there are huge expectations; for new MPs to know a lot from day one, for them to have a fully staffed office poised to help (the reality is that can take several weeks to set up) and for them to be available to everyone wishing to meet them and fill them in on their case/issue/strategy/pet project or just to say hello.

The difference for this election is the sheer number of new MPs who will be arriving with a background in or around the Westminster bubble. It is a Special Advisors election and they won’t have quite the same panicked look on their faces as others have done in the past.

It will be interesting to watch how quick some are to make their mark and stand out among a big intake. It’s a huge learning curve, however politically savvy you are, but it’s also the culmination of sometimes many years of passionate campaigning and a desire to make a difference. With all parties facing some serious challenges — both internally and on the wider policy issues — don’t expect things to settle down any time soon.