The University of Nottingham

A six-month coalition with the Green Party has given alumna Lianne de Mello a rare insight into the life of an MP.

Lianne (Critical Theory and Politics 2009), 23, was one of 31 outstanding black and ethnic minority individuals chosen to shadow an MP as part of the Operation Black Vote scheme (www.obv.org.uk/).

She chose Dr Caroline Lucas, Leader of the Green Party. “I admire Caroline as a lone MP and as a woman, so spending that amount of time with her and in Parliament was an eye-opener. It’s an impenetrable place so getting the opportunity to see how it worked was invaluable,” said Lianne, a policy researcher at Brighton and Hove City Council.

“OBV is crucial in giving those from diverse backgrounds a chance to experience something they would otherwise have missed out on through our largely insular political system.”