On Tuesday 5th March, I hurried from the Chamber where I'd been speaking in the Health and Social Care session, and went straight to the on-site Education Centre. I was keen to join the 16 children from the school council at West Leigh Junior School who were on a day visit to Parliament.
The children had already enjoyed an educational tour of the Palace of Westminster and were busy learning more about debating and the law-making process in the Commons and Lords.
I began by telling the children what an MP did and what it meant to represent a constituency. I explained what I'd just been doing in the Chamber in the House of Commons where I’d informed the Secretary of State for Health about exciting plans to open a new NHS dentist practice in Southend.
I then talked about my ongoing campaign to end knife crime in Southend and how MPs can actually change the law. I used the example of my recent successful ‘zombie knife’ ban so that the children could see how MPs can make a real difference to keep people safe.
My Pet Abduction Private Members Bill is now through the first stages of the Commons and the Lords so I asked the children how they’d feel if a beloved pet were to be stolen from them.
“Sad”, “angry”, “mad” were some of the answers and they all agreed with the premise of my Bill that pets are far more valuable in terms of emotion and attachment than an inanimate object and thus should be better protected in law.
I then asked if the children had any questions for me and they came thick and fast! The children asked me things like ‘do you enjoy your job’ and ‘how many laws have you made’. My answers were ‘yes, immensely’ and ‘three - banning zombie knives and nitrous oxide and my pet abduction bill'.
It was very touching how enthusiastic the children were and before I left they thanked me with a traditional and hearty ‘hear hear’ as a sign of their approval.
It was such a pleasure to spend time with them all and I thought their questions were so interesting. They were all very engaged with the subject of Parliament and law-making. I’m sure they make an excellent school council.
I think it’s so important to make children aware of how our democracy works and actually get them involved. Tuesday’s visit will hopefully encourage some of these children to pursue a career in politics in the future!
