Year 6 students from St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Bradley Stoke and Winterbourne Academy recently visited their local MP, Claire Hazelgrove, in Westminster to see Parliament in action and take part in workshops where they created their own manifestos. Claire then joined them to hear their ideas and answer their questions.
Since being elected in July last year, the MP for the Filton and Bradley Stoke constituency has written to every school in the constituency inviting them to Parliament and has welcomed groups from schools, colleges and UWE to encourage them to engage in the democratic process and make their voices heard.
Among a wide range of questions, the children from St Mary’s Catholic Primary School asked questions about local issues and wider ones, such as climate change, homelessness and equality, while the Winterbourne students were also interested in hearing about Claire’s journey into politics and the day-to-day work of an MP.
Claire is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Political and Media Literacy and has previously emphasised the importance of engaging young people in the democratic process both before and since entering Parliament.
Claire said: “It was a pleasure to welcome students from both St Mary’s Catholic Primary School and Winterbourne Academy to Westminster. I very much enjoyed joining them to hear about their policy ideas and to answer their great questions.
“Parliament belongs to everyone, and I really enjoy welcoming fellow local residents of all ages in and encouraging young people to see themselves here. The main message I left with them is that we always need people who care about politics, and that if I can do this – as an ordinary person from a regular background – so can they.
“A driving belief of mine is that your background shouldn’t determine your life chances and life choices. I’m glad that breaking down barriers to opportunity is a central mission of this Labour government, and its important to me that this is not only in the additional support we’re providing for schools and families, but in how we engage young people along the way.”