On Thursday 5 May, the day of local elections, the Politics society were privileged to have Councillor Laurence Brass come to Habs to present on a topical and important subject: Why bother to vote?
Councillor Brass spoke about his experience in politics, which included the time when he stood against Margaret Thatcher for the Finchley and Golders Green seat. He spoke also about being a LibDem councillor for Bushey North and his political activism during the 1960s. This engaging talk left us all with lots to think about and we were inspired by Councillor Brass’ anecdotes on his involvement in protests against the Vietnam War and Apartheid.
In addition to this, the talk focused on exercising your democratic right to vote. Councillor Brass told us about his own experience of losing an election by just three ballots, emphasising the importance of voting – whilst also highlighting the excitement and unpredictability of election day, even at a local level. Local elections are a key part of the UK’s political system, so it was insightful to learn more about the role of councillors, and the rising influence of social media in politics – a topic that many have been focusing on in the A Level course as well.
Overall, Councillor Brass’ talk was thought-provoking and left us excited to vote and become more politically active, on a regional and national scale.
Written by Lower Sixth student, Molly.
