How to Become an MP

While more than two million people in the UK work in politics, only 650 can become MPs – just 0.0009% of the population.

Many young people aspiring to a career in politics wonder how to become an MP. In this guide, we’ll explore all the different pathways to getting elected as a Member of Parliament – from the right university choices to getting involved in party politics and finally winning your seat.

We also discuss Dukes Plus’s Young International Politics Summer Experience, an incredible politics summer school in London for students aged 15-18.

Education

MPs are not required to have any formal qualifications. But your education could have a major impact on your political ambitions.

Do you need to go to university to become an MP?

In the most recent general election (2024), 90% of elected MPs had been to university. This was up from around 85% in the previous two elections. So, while you don’t necessarily need to go to university, the vast majority of MPs will have done so.

That said, opportunities for non-university-educated politicians appear to be on the rise. The UK’s Deputy Prime Minister from 2024-25, Angela Rayner, left school at 15, so you can still become a successful MP without going to university.

Which university should you go to?

Some universities set you up for a career as an MP better than others. The truism that all of our politicians went to Oxbridge may be an exaggeration, but there is some truth behind it. Since 1937, all UK Prime Ministers except one (Gordon Brown) studied at Oxford for their undergraduate or postgraduate degree.

According to analysis by the Sutton Trust, in the 2024 general election, 20% of elected MPs were at either Oxford or Cambridge for their undergrad, and an additional 34% went to other Russell Group universities. These are among the most popular universities for MPs:

• Oxford
• Cambridge
• London School of Economics
• Glasgow
• Edinburgh
• Durham
• Birmingham
• Exeter

What should you study?

You might assume that if you want to become an MP, then you should study Politics at university. This might be straight Politics, History and Politics, or Oxford’s Philosophy, Politics and Economics degree – in popular imagination, the breeding ground for most of the UK’s political leaders.

And indeed, Politics is the most popular undergraduate degree subject for elected MPs. However, most MPs didn’t study Politics – here’s the breakdown of the most popular subjects:

• Politics – 20%
• History – 13%
• Law – 12%
• Economics – 10%
• Philosophy – 6%
• English – 4%

What else should you do at university?

Where you go and what you study is only half the story. Universities also offer significant opportunities for gaining politics work experience, networking with aspiring and current politicians, and developing skills which can help in your career as an MP.

Joining your university’s student union will enable you to engage in student politics firsthand. Roles like president or treasurer offer quite a lot of responsibility: you might be negotiating with the university and advocating on behalf of your fellow students, while having to manage the competing demands of your members. At Oxford or Cambridge, each college will have its own Junior Common Room or College Union which perform similar functions on a smaller scale.

On a national level, there is also the National Union of Students (NUS). This body represents all students in the UK and advocates on issues like tuition fees, student housing quality, maintenance loans, and visas for international students. The current Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, was President of the NUS from 2008-10.

You could also join your university’s politics or debating society to get experience of public speaking, argumentation, and political thinking. The Oxford Union – slightly confusingly, this is not Oxford’s student union but its debating society – has long been seen as the cradle of future politicians. William Hague (Foreign Secretary), Michael Gove (Education Secretary), and Boris Johnson (Prime Minister) were all Presidents of the Oxford Union within ten years of one another.

Join a Political Party

At the 2024 general election, six independent MPs were elected. This is the highest total in modern history, but it still represents less than 1% of the total number in the House of Commons. If you want to become an MP, by far your best chance is to stand as the candidate of a major political party – and the first step on this road is to join a party.

You may already know which party you support, but if you don’t, then review their manifestos, policy announcements, and appearances by their MPs in the media. Decide which party best aligns with your values and also your sense of what is achievable (if you become an MP for that party, then you’ll be on the hook for delivering what you’ve promised, so make sure you think that the party’s policies are realistic as well as admirable!).

You can also use online tools like Vote Compass, which assesses where you stand on the political spectrum vs the major UK parties, and Vote for Policies, which assesses which parties’ policies best match your values. These tools tend to get updated at each general election, so they may be a little out of date in the middle of a parliamentary term.

Get Selected By Your Party

When the next general election is called, you want to be your party’s candidate in your constituency. All parties have different rules and processes for selecting candidates, but generally selection is done at a local level (by the constituency party) with some national oversight.

The road to getting selected by your party is long and involves lots of hard work and networking. Here are some tips to improve your chances.

Networking

Once you join a party, you’ll start getting invited to its local meetings and events. If you’re serious about becoming an MP, you need to attend these regularly. Showing your face and getting to know the other key members of the local party is the first step to securing enough support to be nominated as their parliamentary candidate.

You’ll probably start to understand what issues other local party members care about, what their political positions are, and who the most influential individuals are in your area. This information is vital to getting selected.

Campaigning

You’ll build up your political skills and earn respect in your local party by campaigning. This might be canvassing (knocking on doors) in a local or general election, leafleting in your area, or joining protests or picket lines.

Time spent campaigning will also enable you to understand what ordinary people think in your area and will help you learn to persuade them. This will be key when it comes to your own campaign for parliament.

Volunteering

Whether it’s volunteering for your party – working in a phone bank or helping out your local councillors – or for the community more broadly, this experience is essential to helping you become an MP. You’ll win goodwill in your local party and in the area, and build up a bank of evidence that you care about your constituency which you can use in your campaign.

Work

Before you stand for selection by your party, there are plenty of things you can do in your career to enhance your chances.

Public sector political roles

Aspiring MPs often:

• Serve as local councillors
• Join trade unions
• Work as parliamentary assistants / advisors to MPs
• Work in the civil service

Each of these jobs will provide you with a different type of political experience and opportunities for networking, but they can all be valuable.

Private sector political roles

The growing number of political roles in the private sector presents significant opportunities for aspiring MPs. These might include:

• Think tanks
• Public affairs agencies / political consultancies / political lobbying agencies
• Journalism (see our guide on how to become a journalist)

These roles will provide you with access to MPs, an understanding of how the political process works in the UK, and require you to think about political issues and argue you for your positions.

Of course, many aspiring politicians combine these routes. For instance, it’s very common for a university Politics graduate to join the Civil Service Fast Stream, then work in a think tank, then become an advisor to an MP, before finally getting selected by their local party.

Building up your experience and connections is absolutely essential, in whichever way you achieve it.

Other popular careers for MPs

Other MPs come into politics later having had successful roles in other careers. There are many Lawyers, doctors, teachers, businesspeople, and financial professionals in the House of Commons.

Stand for Election and Become an MP

You’ve been selected by your party as their candidate for your constituency in the upcoming general election – congratulations! Now all you need to do is win.

First you’ll need to meet the legal requirements for MPs. Candidates must:

• Be 18 years old or over
• Have citizenship in the UK, Republic of Ireland, or a Commonwealth country
• Not be declared bankrupt

If you meet these requirements, you’ll need to get 10 registered voters from your constituency to sign your nomination papers before the deadline (a few weeks before polling day). You also need to pay a £500 deposit, which you’ll get back if you get 5% or more of the vote.

During your campaign, you’ll likely get a lot of support from your party, including:

• A database of voters in your local area
• Print leaflets and posters
• Campaign scripts and messages
• Social media templates
• Volunteers to campaign for you
• Campaign manager and/or agent

But you’ll still need to spend weeks meeting your constituents, attending hustings and other campaign events, knocking on doors, delivering email and social media messages, speaking to journalists, and doing your utmost to drum up support.

Now it’s over to the voters. If you get one more vote than any other candidate in the constituency, then under the UK’s first-past-the-post system, you’ll become an MP. Shortly after the election, you’ll attend the House of Commons for the first time for your ‘swearing in’ – this is when you take an oath of loyalty to the Crown. Without doing so, MPs cannot take their seat, speak in debates, vote or receive a salary.aily diary of what you’ve seen will enrich your understanding of the political world​.

The Young International Politics Summer Experience

For students wanting to experience life as a politician, Dukes Plus offers the Young International Politics Summer Experience – an immersive 1- to 2-week programme in London designed for ages 15-18.

You’ll:

• Learn from diplomats, politicians and policy experts
• Design and run an election campaign
• Tour the Houses of Parliament
• Create a political news broadcast from the Sky studio

If you’re passionate about a career in politics, this is a brilliant way to develop your knowledge, boost your university applications, and meet like-minded students from around the world.