After an early start, we arrived in the capital with knowledge to gain and understanding to deepen. Our venue, Methodist Central Hall, hosted an esteemed contingent of politicians and political figures, along with an audience of around 1,000 keen sixth-form students, including 13 from the FY8.
The day began with speeches from former Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg and current Reform UK MP Richard Tice. Both received mixed receptions from the young audience as they shared their political thoughts and allegiances, after which they were challenged with insightful questions. The academic and political standard of the student audience was clearly high.
After a lunch break to recharge our intellectual batteries, we listened to Labour MP Emily Thornberry and Liberal Democrat MP Daisy Cooper as they laid out their parties' political agendas and answered well-thought-out questions from the audience.
To conclude an insightful day of speeches, Alastair Campbell, Tony Blair’s former director of communications during the ‘New Labour’ government, spoke about the importance of voting and shared his political experiences, both positive and negative.
Before heading back home, we took a whistle-stop tour of the Houses of Parliament, briefly watching debates in the House of Commons from the viewing gallery and admiring statues of former Prime Ministers such as William Gladstone and Sir Robert Walpole.
Kindest regards,
Toby Curran