Students attend Political Conference at Westminster

10 December 2015

Our Government & Politics department organised an informative trip for 25 students at a Political Conference in Westminster, London.

The students travelled to London on Sunday 29^th November by first class train and took the opportunity to go sight-seeing when they arrived, visiting famous landmarks such as the London Eye, the Millennium Bridge and St Paul’s Cathedral. The group enjoyed a meal at the Strada restaurant overlooking the Cathedral that evening.

The following morning, the students took the Tube to Westminster where our Government & Politics department had arranged a meeting with Birkenhead MP, Frank Field. Frank gave students an insight into what a Member of Parliament typically does in a week and then took questions from the students.

Students asked questions on a range of issues, including, which way Mr Field planned to vote in the forthcoming EU referendum, the recent Labour leadership election and votes for 16-17 year olds. The session lasted nearly an hour and a half and the group felt very privileged to be given such an opportunity.

The students then attended Westminster Central Hall for the A Level Politics Conference. There were a number of high-profile politicians who delivered short speeches and then took questions from students. Speakers included Natalie Bennett, Leader of the Green Party; Douglas Carswell, UKIP MP; Chris Grayling, Conservative MP and Leader of the House of Commons; Tim Farron, Leader of the Liberal Democrats and John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons.

Head of History, Jane Cavanagh commented, “It was a highly engaging and informative day. The students enjoyed the trip immensely and had the opportunity to meet some prominent political figures, including Angus Robertson – the Member of Parliament for the SNP and former Deputy Prime Minister and Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, which they were all extremely pleased about.”

First year student, Ellie Clement-Evans, who joined the College from West Kirby Grammar School and also studies Geography, English Language and Film Studies, commented, “I enjoyed being in London and found the conference extremely interesting - particularly the speech by John Bercow.”