In British politics and some Commonwealth nations, a parliamentary assistant is an unelected partisan staff member employed by a Member of Parliament (MP) to assist them with their parliamentary duties.
Parliamentary assistants usually work at the House of Commons in the UK Parliament or in their MP's constituency office.
[1] The duties of parliamentary assistants vary significantly depending on the MPs they work for and their position in Parliament; but generally they facilitate the day-to-day working life of their MP and make it as efficient as possible.
Such persons are also often referred to as staffers, and is a common way for younger party members to gain political experience prior to running for preselection in an internal ballot.
In recent years, there has been controversy over the tradition of MPs hiring their family members as parliamentary assistants.