School of Social & Political Sciences

Lewis O'Neill Blog

Lewis O'Neill is a 4th Year Economics students and is one of our current John Smith Centre Parliamentary interns

Life As A Parliamentary Intern

My name is Lewis O’Neill and I’m a 4th year Economics student at the University of Glasgow currently working with Ross Greer MSP through the John Smith Centre’s parliamentary internship programme. I’ve always been interested in the way that economic research feeds through to decision making in politics and felt that working in an MSP office would be an insightful opportunity to observe this process and improve my skills in communicating economic ideas to different audiences.

Although the duties of interns vary significantly depending on the host MSP, the staff at the John Smith Centre make great effort in matching interns to the best office for them. My interests are firmly in policy and communications, and it has been interesting to work in parliament alongside the Scottish Greens parliamentary group with colleagues from a range of policy areas and responsibilities. While I expected the team to be friendly and welcoming, I was a little surprised on my first day when they introduced me to a 6-foot-tall plush goose which moves between the offices.

Soft toys aside, it has been a fascinating opportunity to see how the party makes communication and policy decisions day-to-day based on rapidly changing media narratives. Since the Scottish Greens have 2 ministers in the Scottish Government through the Bute House Agreement, it has been interesting to observe the party’s role both as a partner and scrutiniser of government.

Ross Greer has been a great mentor in the role so far and has given me plenty of space to focus on the policy areas I am most interested in while regularly providing great advice and guidance. After conversations with colleagues in the party and in SPICE (the Scottish Parliament’s information and research centre) I decided to focus on the issue of council tax reform. There is cross party agreement that council tax, which is based on out-of-date property valuations from 40 years ago, is regressive and means that, during times of tough financial conditions, local government must choose between cuts in public services or increasing the tax burden disproportionately on the poorest in society. The SNP promised to scrap the tax in 2007 and, despite a parliamentary commission in 2015, reform still seems a long way off. My objective is to collate the wide range of thoughts on the issue and provide economic analysis for the Scottish Green’s reform proposal, which would update the valuations and increase the tax burden on wealthier homeowners. I look forward to developing this work and hope it can expedite the case for reform.

I would strongly recommend any student interested in policymaking, public service, or even communications to apply for the John Smith Centre parliamentary internship. It is a highly regarded experience on your CV for employers, provides you with an opportunity to get out your comfort zone by working in a party-political environment where your own views might be at odds with your colleagues, and where you get to enjoy the Scottish Parliament’s excellent canteen lunches!