Jeremy Corbyn is right: MPs could do with training

Party leaders are meeting this afternoon to discuss Westminster’s response to the sexual harassment allegations sweeping all parts of the political spectrum. Ahead of the meeting, Jeremy Corbyn has called for a training programme for MPs after every general election on how to treat their employees, while Theresa May has said that parliament itself needs a ‘proper process where people can make complaints and bring allegations’.

Corbyn’s training idea makes a fair bit of sense. MPs are not elected based on their ability to run a small business, but that is effectively what they have to do with their staff in Parliament and in the constituency. When they arrive in Westminster, they are given inductions by the House and by their party whips, but this doesn’t include much in the way of training on any aspect of how to be a good parliamentarian, whether it be the lofty business of scrutinising legislation, or the basics of managing staff.