Our research shows that 46% of MPs think that increased staffing would improve their use of ICT, suggesting that workload is an issue in the office (this was also noted by the House of Commons Information Committee as far back as 2002). But the full answer isn’t quite as straightforward as that. The internet clearly also makes it easier for constituents to be in contact with MPs (one to one) and for MPs to keep in touch with constituents (one to many) and this by and large seen as a good thing (87% of MPs think email is a valuable tool and websites are valued by 89%). 

Where electronic communication is seen as negative is in the difficulty of filtering out communication from non-constituents – comments have been made my MPs that it is too easy to fire off an email to a group of MPs. This obviously happens with letters but is more prevalent with email and social networking. 

Another way to answer this question is to look at adoption. All but a very small minority of MPs use email, most have a website and a quarter use social networking tools (and the use of the latter is growing rapidly). They use these media because they are seen as beneficial to them doing their job – and, of course, getting re-elected. Yes, it’s true that many see the internet as a tool to promote themselves, their party and what they are doing but part of an MPs role is to be accountable to their electorate. 

Overall, I think it’s safe to say that the internet increases an MPs workload but it also improves their ability to do their job, providing that they are using it effectively as a two-way communication media and not simply as a publishing tool.