News from Westminster
Last month I hosted a group of work experience students in the constituency office. Ten students from six different schools gave up a week of their Easter holiday to gain an insight into the world of local and national politics.
A few years ago, I was the chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Youth Employment, and it was clear from our research that it is important that young people can have the opportunity to see first-hand how the skills and knowledge they are developing at school can be transferred into the work place.
My staff and I arrange a varied programme of activities which are both interesting, and reflect the types of work my staff and I do on a regular basis. This involves some of the more mundane administrative tasks like putting hundreds of letters into envelopes and delivering leaflets, as well as the highlights! During the week, the young people had the chance to ask questions of a member of the House of Lords in a virtual Q & A; chat to my staff about what it is like to work in the seat of our democracy in Parliament; find out about being a local Town or Dorset Councillor; and chat to me about their plans for their future careers. They asked me about being a local MP and Cabinet Minister, and we challenge them too - we ask them to imagine they are in charge. What laws would they change? What would they ban? How would they react to differing demands on their time? What would they do to solve various national issues? If they could be Prime Minister, who would they choose to be in the Cabinet?
They also take part in a Parliamentary-style debate on an issue that might particularly affect young people. This time they chose the legalisation of cannabis – a controversial topic! As expected, it was a lively debate, with well-researched arguments on both sides. They all contributed, including intervening on their colleagues, and challenging the points made, before a final vote.
They’ve also been drafting some news items for my email newsletter and website, learning about the media side of being an MP. All this is combined with biscuits and cake, and I will be inviting them to Parliament to see Government in action later this term.
I hope to host another work experience week in the summer – if you want to know more about what the students did this week, and how they felt about it, please do have a look on my website where you can find their diary entries for the week.
