12 November 2025
I asked the Prime Minister to address the unsustainable reliance of hospices on charitable donations. Garden House Hospice in Letchworth is facing a serious funding gap, and while I welcome recent government investment, I urged broader reforms to put hospice funding on a secure footing. I also called for ministers to meet with me urgently to explore every option to keep Garden House Hospice open.
Closing Date: 24 November 2025
Job Title: Constituency & Policy Assistant
Working For: Chris Hinchliff MP (North East Hertfordshire)
Location: Letchworth Garden City
Salary: In line with IPSA pay scales
Length of Contract: Permament, full-time
Job Details
We are seeking a Constituency & Policy Assistant to join the office of Chris Hinchliff MP. This is a varied and hands-on role, ideal for someone with a broad skillset and a passion for public service.
Based in the constituency office, you will provide practical support to the MP and will play a leading role in engagement with constituents.
This includes building relationships with community groups, stakeholders, and organisations, attending constituency visits and events, and identifying opportunities to strengthen the MP’s presence and impact locally. The role also involves responding to policy questions from constituents and providing coordinated responses to organised campaigns, ensuring local concerns are acknowledged and reflected in parliamentary activity.
Duties include:
Project and event management; arranging coffee mornings, town hall meetings, roundtables and policy forums;
Local stakeholder engagement and relationship management;
Maintaining the stakeholder database;
Staying on top of constituency issues;
Providing support with constituency visits/events;
Oversight of grassroots campaigns;
Drafting responses to policy queries;
Undertaking research;
Providing general administrative support;
Engaging professionally and confidentially with members of the public;
Occassionally you may need to work outside of the normal working hours and to travel for work.
Skills required include:
Essential
Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to maintain relationships with stakeholders;
Strong oral and written communication skills with the ability to draft clear and professional correspondence;
Proven organisational skills with the ability to work independently and as part of a team in fast-paced political environment;
A proactive and flexible approach with a willingness to jump in where needed;
Awareness of current affairs and the issues facing the constituency;
Ability to work with discretion, sensitivity and confidentiality at all times;
Desirable
Experience in community engagement, stakeholder management or grassroots campaigning;
Familiarity with parliamentary processes;
Previous experience in a political or public service role;
As the constituency is rural, it's preferable you have a full driving licence and access to a car;
You should be sympathetic to the values of the Labour Party.
This is a full-time role.
Upon appointment you will be required to comply with the Baseline Personnel Security Standard, undertaken by the Members’ Staff Verification Office (MSVO). See Members’ Staff Verification Office (MSVO) page for further info. MPs generally pay staff in accordance with IPSA guidelines.
Closing Date: 24 November 2025
Interview/Start Dates
We aim to conduct interviews the week commencing 01/12/2025.
Preferably you would be able to commence work in January 2026.
Application Details
Please send your CV and a covering letter (of no more than one page) outlining your suitability for the role to Chris Hinchliff MP at chris.hinchliff.mp@parliament.uk.
In the subject line of your email please state 'Constituency & Policy Assistant Job Application'.
09 September 2025
North East Hertfordshire MP leads charge against public transport deserts, calling for a bus service for every village.
Mr Hinchliff has tabled an amendment to the Bus Services Bill to guarantee minimum bus service levels for communities of 300 residents or more.
In a letter to the Transport Secretary Mr Hinchliff slams the ‘privatisation disaster’ overseen by the previous Conservative Government.
Chris Hinchliff MP has tabled an amendment to the Bus Services Bill, due for its Report Stage on Wednesday 10 September, calling for a review into the tools and funding required to ensure every community of 300 residents or more has a guaranteed minimum bus service.
The MP for North East Hertfordshire has also written to the Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander MP welcoming the Labour Government’s transformational plans for public transport and calling for rural communities to be granted guaranteed bus services.
In the letter, Mr Hinchliff recognises that the Government is leading the most significant improvement to public transport in a generation, whilst calling for specific action to support rural communities which “bore the brunt of the Conservatives privatisation disaster.” He points out that some areas in England and Wales saw “bus services cut by more than 80% over the last 15 years.”
Chris Hinchliff MP said: “The Government’s approach to public transport is a breath of fresh air to communities failed by the Conservative’s dogmatic refusal to put public need before the profits of private operators – for buses and trains alike.
“I want to make sure rural communities are at the heart of Labour’s ambitious plans—we’ve got to prove to the areas privatisation left behind, that well-resourced local authorities, with the proper tools, can provide the services people are crying out for.
“Reliable bus services should never be considered a luxury, a “nice to have”—they should be enshrined into law as a right. We see regular, reliable buses, seven days a week, even in mountainous and remote regions of Switzerland, Austria and Germany. There is no reason we can’t do the same here.
“The last Government left rural communities saddled with transport poverty—where people without personal cars are left completely isolated, unable to access employment, education, or indeed, the basics to live happy, healthy, connected lives.
“The Conservatives cut local authority budgets to the bone, leaving even the most well-intentioned councils struggling to provide a bus network local people could rely on. That’s why I am calling for a review of the powers and funding needed to guarantee that every community of at least 300 residents has access to a minimum level of bus service.”
Mr Hinchliff recently conducted surveyed 280 North East Hertfordshire constituents on local bus services. 83% of respondents felt current provisions do not offer a proper alternative to car ownership, with a majority admitting they’re dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied with local bus services. A whopping 98% of respondents said they would like to see a guaranteed a regular and convenient bus service.
ENDS
Editors’ Notes
The wording of the amendment is as follows: To move the following Clause— “Minimum bus service standards: review (1) Within six months of the passing of this Act, the Secretary of State must conduct a review into the minimum bus service standards required for communities in England. (2) The review conducted under this section must— (a) take into consideration the different requirements of communities of differing population sizes across England, including rural and urban communities, (b) explore the regulatory powers and funding arrangements that would be required for Local Transport Authorities to implement guaranteed minimum bus services for every community with more than three hundred residents across England.
More information about the Bus Services (No 2) Bill can be found here: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3910
The letter to the Transport Secretary can be found here: https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a02159_92f7c752b11b4cf39548da991a3eed0b~mv2.png
Contact
All press queries should be addressed to:
Press Office Office of Chris Hinchliff MP chris.hinchliff.mp@parliament.uk